Malcolm Pollack (Motus Mentis), who seems to favor a national divorce, writes despairingly about possibility of obtaining one. His discourse is informed by three recent articles at Asylum: Michal Anton’s “Malcolm; or, on Separation”; a reply by Anonymous, “A National Divorce from Reality”; and Anton’s rejoinder, “How to Read Dialogues”.
I am resoundingly in favor of a national divorce (see this, this, this, this, and this). And it is far too soon to give up on the idea. As Anton says near the end of his rejoinder:
This situation is dire; it is not hopeless…. It is never hopeless because, first, one never knows what may happen. Virtue doesn’t always win, but it often does, and is only certain to lose when it doesn’t try. Second, fortune is capricious and does not consistently favor (as far as the human mind can discern) either side in any struggle. Third, adversaries make mistakes, even unforced errors. Fourth, despite its pretensions, this … thing cannot last forever…. Fifth, and perhaps most encouraging, “there is no reason for despair as long as human nature has not been conquered completely i.e., as long as sun and man still generate man. There will always be men (andres) who will revolt against a state which is destructive of humanity or in which there is no longer a possibility of noble action and of great deeds.”…
So I repeat the truism that, to know what to do, one must first debate what to do, which includes discussing the pros and cons of options that will eventually be ruled out. But the discussion must take place. Choosing smallball in advance is self-limiting, and will prove to be a mistake until and unless it is known that smallball will be sufficient and/or that all alternatives are impossible. Preemptive exclusions tend to cultivate defeatism.
Our enemies on the left — yes, they are enemies — will not relent until they are defeated. And if they are not defeated, every American who truly loves liberty will be oppressed and impoverished (along with the many other Americans who are blind to what is happening or who support it).
I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but I am with Patrick Henry.