Tom Woods talks about secession.  When many people hear this they think of the Civil War or racism.  This is too bad because secession is probably the most important right that a group of people retains.  This is supposedly a ideal in the West, the right of people to have self determination.  After World War I, Woodrow Wilson argued that all peoples have the right to rule themselves and choose their own destiny.  Wilson might have not been sincere (he is a politician after all) but the whole Western world had to concede to Wilson’s moral stance.  Self Determination is not just some slogan, it actually means something.  Here in the United States, what used to be called “these United States”, the idea of one nation under rule of Washington DC is a more recent development.  During the peace with King George after the Revolutionary War, each colony signed their own peace treaty with Britain because each was considered a sovereign country.  It also generally assumed until the Civil War (or more accurately, “the war between the states”) that the union was voluntary.  Lincoln’s acts of aggression against the South was a war of conquest and was illegal.  We need to reevaluate this ancient tradition of secession and self determination.   Smaller political units are much more responsive to the will of the people and are much better at protecting the rights of the individual.  I hope for a future where each state is truly free to decide their own destiny, it is what we desperately need more than ever.