By Jordan Bickham
Staff Writer

Wanna leave the country this weekend and visit Oklahoma? Some Texans do.

Yes, Oklahoma is only a few hours away from Coppell, but if Texas petitioners get their way, you might have to look into obtaining a passport in order to cross the Red River.

Texas and the United States have generally always had a good relationship, but recently radical Texans want to repeat 1861 and divorce from the Union.  While there are some who are very seriously considering the idea of becoming their own nation, many others around the country are laughing at the prospect of the Republic of Texas.

After the results of the recent presidential election, Republicans from all over the nation have been bitter, lamenting Mitt Romney’s loss and Barack Obama’s re-election.  Some bitter Republicans went immediately to the extreme in a spur of the moment decision to try to go back to their native Texan roots, when Texas was its own nation.

While it seems extreme, some citizens are taking the idea seriously to the point of petitioning it on the “We the People” online petition tool.  Around 120,000 people have signed a petition for the secession of Texas as of when.  According to the tool’s policy, any petitions with over 25,000 signatures must be addressed and responded to by the White House, putting the administration in the uncomfortable situation of responding within thirty days to Texas’ wish to secede.

Not only are Texans petitioning for secession from the US, but several other states have also started movements for secession.  States such as Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio are also receiving attention due to their petitions having over 25,000 signatures.

In total, almost one million Americans across the country have signed a petition in an attempt to secede from the Union.

Some intense Texans have created create organizations such as Texas Secede, bumper stickers or, in cases, even changed their middle name such as Republican politician Larry Kilgore who is attempting to change his middle name to “Secede.”

Although the idea of secession makes many reasonable Americans cringe, these radical Texans have some support for their argument.

The petition itself shares the fact that Texas alone has the, “15th largest economy in the world,” and, “maintains a balanced budget.”  According to this information, some believe that secession is a practical solution to the recent election results.  The petition also argues that seceding from the United States would protect the standard of living for Texas citizens as well as “re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government.”

While these radical thinkers have some sort of substance to their argument, seceding from the nation is not the most stable solution to their “problem.”  This issue starts with the “problem” itself and the fact that it’s not truly a problem; instead, the problem is more of a conflict in beliefs or views.

Rather than this being an issue of losing their rights, the issue is more about offended Republicans reacting poorly to their loss in the presidential election, similar to a child throwing a fit after not getting their way.

Yes, it is feasible for Texas to become its own nation, but does the majority of the state really want to go off on its own?  Instead, this select group of bitter Texans should analyze other options that are available – many of them expressed the desire to move to Canada after the election, another act that would do very little to distance them from liberalism.

Even though some Americans are completely serious when discussing secession from the Union over the election, others laugh at the idea such as those now petitioning to have the U.S. citizenship of those who signed the pro-secession petition stripped.  Others are even petitioning Obama to do the hokey-pokey as a jab at serious pro-secessionists.

Some of the main issues with the idea of seceding from the Union is the fact that the state will lose all the federal dollars that are used for various projects such as fixing roads, university student loans, defense on the border from illegal immigrants and much more.   Not only that, but more importantly, the United States is going through a difficult time.  More than anything else, the country needs to continue being, “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Sure, Texas is a great state with the potential to be a solid nation, but is the thought of secession really the best idea?   To those truly considering secession, I ask you to check your history textbooks and read about why Texas as nation did not work the first time.  The only time in history Texas seceded along with numerous other states resulted in the Civil War, an event that some radicals are forgetting and an incident nobody wants to experience again.

Many incidents in history are not meant to be repeated, and Texas becoming its own nation is definitely one of them.