Loop Issue One



The Vermont Manifesto
by Thomas H. Naylor


Only in Vermont was the concept of a state as a self-constituted political community fully and radically tested... In this sense, Vermont was the only true American republic, for it alone had created itself.

- Peter S. Onuf: "The Origins of the Federal Republic"


A specter is haunting America—the specter of separation, alienation, and powerlessness. We are enmeshed in a global system of conquest and destruction in which Corporate America and the United States government manipulate and control the lives of millions of ostensibly free individuals through money, markets, media, and technology resulting in the loss of political, economic, agricultural, social, cultural, and environmental sustainability and independence. We have been enslaved by American imperialism—internal and external, and most of us don’t even know it.

Many Vermonters believe the United States government has become too big, too centralized, too powerful, too intrusive, too materialistic, too high-tech, too globalized, too militarized, too imperialistic, too violent, too undemocratic, and too unresponsive to the needs of individual citizens and small communities. National and Congressional elections are bought and sold to the highest bidder. State and local governments assume too little responsibility for the well-being of their citizens—always willing to abdicate their responsibilities to Washington. America has lost its sustainability, and Vermont has lost its sovereignty. Both Vermont and the United States need to reinvent themselves.

For many Americans life has no meaning. We are separated from ourselves, others, and “the ground of our being.” We are powerless at the feet of Corporate America and the U.S. government. And since we are so afraid of dying, we spend our lives denying the inevitable. Vermonters are no exception to the rule.

In an attempt to numb the effects of the pain and suffering associated with meaninglessness, separation, powerlessness, and fear of death, many of us embrace a lifestyle based almost entirely on having—owning, possessing, manipulating, and controlling people, power, money, machines, and material wealth. Affluenza, technomania, e-mania, megalomania, cipherism, globalization, and imperialism are all examples of how we use having to pursue our search for security and certainty in an uncertain world. A lifestyle with which few Vermonters are very comfortable.

Having gives rise to megalomania—an obsession with personal power, influence, grandeur, and wealth and the obsessive-compulsive worship of anything that is big—big government, big cities, big business, big schools, big science, big weapons, big computer networks, and big political unions. Definitely not the Vermont way!

Unsustainable transnational megacompanies, accountable to no one, tell us what to buy, how much to pay for it, and when to replace it. They also tell us where we can work, how much we will be paid, and what the working conditions will be like. But Vermonters don’t like being told what to do by anyone.

The World Trade Center was the shrine of globalization, where believers paid homage to the international system of mass production, mass marketing, mass distribution, mass consumption, mega financial institutions, and global telecommunications—a system which works best, if we are all the same. All too often globalization has been achieved through coercion, intimidation, exploitation, collectivism, monopoly, and American military might.

Since the sum of our nation’s global commitments exceeds its power to defend them all simultaneously, the American Empire could face a fate similar to that which led to the demise of the Roman, Ottoman, Spanish, Napoleonic, British, and Soviet empires.

Many Vermonters view the so-called American Way of Life through a jaundiced eye—corporate greed, homeland security, the denial of basic civil liberties, the militarization of space, pandering to the rich and powerful, and global hegemony. They are disillusioned with America’s hubris and concupiscence and long for a quieter, simpler, less materialistic, more fulfilling life. They are turned off by the mindless conformity of the rest of the nation.

How many Vermonters are prepared to fight or die in the corrupt war on terrorism against an unknown enemy waged by ciphers disguised as statesmen and public servants? Whether against North Vietnam, Iraq, Serbia, Iran, or North Korea, wars are fought not to achieve social justice, but to serve the interests of political elites pretending to be patriots, who manipulate others into doing their dirty work, including sacrificing their lives for what they believe to be ideals such as freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, all too often, these ideals turn out to be euphemisms for money, power, and greed, which are anathemas to many Vermonters. We need a Vermont paradigm to replace the bigger-and-faster-make-better and political, economic, technological, and military might-make-right aphorisms.

Succession: A call for Vermont to reclaim its soul.

Is it possible for Vermont to save the American Republic and in so doing save itself? Can Vermont lead America back to the first principles of our founders Thomas Jefferson and James Madison who held that our Constitution was a compact of sovereign states which had delegated very specific powers to a central government – powers which could be recalled at anytime. Some Vermonters reject the imperialistic view of government espoused by Abraham Lincoln, who claimed that the states were never sovereign and that the contract between the people and the government, the U.S. Constitution, was irreversible. Could it be that there is only one solution to the problems of America – peaceful disunity, not more centralization.

Fundamental to what it means to be a Vermonter is the right of self-preservation. In the world of global terrorism, any state remaining in the United States runs the risk of terrorist attack as well as military conscription for its youth. Vermont independence is not just an idle libertarian threat, but rather a path for survival. Since the United States appears to be unlikely to be able to provide the necessary resources and support systems to sustain a high quality of life for its citizens in the future, then Vermonters may opt for a different road – the road less traveled – the road to sustainability and independence.

In the final analysis, is there any moral alternative for Vermont other than reverting back to its rightful status as an independent republic as it once was? Just as the Green Mountain state petitioned the United States in 1791 to join the Union, so too can it exercise its Constitutional right to leave the Union.

Perhaps the time has come for Vermonters peacefully to rebel against the Empire by (1) Regaining control of our lives from big government, big business, big cities, big schools, and big computer networks; (2) Relearning how to take care of ourselves by decentralizing, downsizing, localizing, demilitarizing, and humanizing our lives; and (3) Learning how to help others take care of themselves so that we all become less dependent on big business, big government, and big technology.

This is a call for nonviolent revolt against the world’s global superpower by 608,000 people. We must serve notice to Washington that we will no longer tolerate the use of the war on terrorism to justify the denial of civil liberties, the further destruction of the environment, the perpetuation of corporate welfare, and the invasion of any small country with whom we happen to disagree. Corporate America must also be informed that if its member companies want to play in Vermont’s backyard, there is a price to be paid. They will play by Vermont’s rules and not those of some impersonal, abstract global market place accountable to no one. Enough is enough. This is a call for Vermont to reclaim its soul!

But a word of caution. We summarily reject any form of violence. Wars and executions occur when our sense of community gives way to our pagan lust for revenge. Violence begets more violence, not the other way around.

Rebellion may provide us with the faith to claw meaning out of meaninglessness, the energy to engage those from whom we are separated, the power to overcome our powerlessness, and the strength to confront death rather than deny it.

Nonviolence is not a passive approach to conflict resolution but rather a proactive approach that goes right to the crux of power relationships. It can undermine power and authority by withdrawing the approval, support, and cooperation of those who have been dealt an injustice. It demands strength and courage and not idle pacifism. Nonviolence derives its strength from the energy buildup and very real power of powerlessness.

We the citizens of Vermont peacefully and respectfully call for a statewide convention of democratically elected representatives to consider one and only one issue—the withdrawal of Vermont from the United States of America and a return to its status as an independent, sustainable republic as was the case in 1791. Once the declaration of secession has been approved by a two-thirds majority, Vermont’s governor will be empowered to negotiate a separation agreement with the U.S. Secretary of State—all of which gives new meaning to the expression “freedom and unity.”

Long live the Second Republic of Vermont!


Professor Emeritus of Economics at Duke University, Thomas H. Naylor is a writer and a social critic who has taught at Middlebury College. An international consultant specializing in strategic management, Dr. Naylor has consulted with governments and major corporations in over 30 countries. The most recent of his 30 books are Downsizing the U.S.A., Affluenza, and The Vermont Manifesto, to be published September 2003 by Xlibris. You can contact him at www.vermontrepublic.org. This piece is © 2003 by Thomas H. Naylor.