In Regards to Political Secession and Working Within Corrupt Imperial Politics
I am actually against the current idea of political secession and the formation of yet another political party within the American-Canadian corrupt political systems. I believe a slave who feels that they need to ask for freedom from their master is never free. A political party would be stereotyped in the corporate media and at first might get a surge in support, but would hit a plateau in interest as it’s stereotyped into two seemingly conflicting images: “radical hippies in communes” and “gun totting racists and xenophobes.” I believe eventually professional or life-long Cascadian politicians would be the biggest obstacle to independence as they would privately see staying in the corrupt political system as a means for their own financial gain. I fear that such a political party would give false hope for reform of the corrupt system.
That all aside there are some things if changed or aspired to would get me to shift my stand on supporting a platform of political secession. I would support political secession if certain things were addressed and actually acted upon. If these (currently 10) specific things are not acted upon then I believe the movement of Cascadian independence is doomed to repeat what the US and other nation-states have become.
1.) That such a secession movement be focused on bioregional awakening
2.) That the movement be a decolonization movement, questioning and deconstructing the thinking of domination of Nature, the Earth and ourselves that we have inherited from “settler culture.” In essence it becomes a resistance movement that includes paradigm shift within us as well
3.) Solidarity with indigenous people in their struggles and acknowledgement of the sovereignty of the indigenous nations within the bioregion
4). Inclusion and active dialog with minorities and marginalized communities as part of the human landscape of the bioregion
5.) Confronting and resisting the current socioeconomic systems of the oppression
6.) Focus on building (birthing) a decentralized Alternative Infrastructure of Resistance and Resilience (A.I.R.R.)
7.) That the movement be focused on decentralization and community autonomy within a bioregional network
8.) Securing and creating culture of stewardship of the social commons (such as education, health and infrastructure) and natural commons (such as water, air, forests, ecological communities, minerals, soil and the Earth)
9.) Denouncing of Nationalism and Cascadia as a single nation, but acknowledging that many indigenous nations exist within that bioregion.
10.) If a secessionist political party was formed that it not focus on electing individuals to positions of power, but focused on issues such as decolonization and demonstrating the corruption of the dominant system.
I fell in love with Cascadia since I moved to Eugene in 2004. Eugene is a great place to live, and a great place to practice sustainable living practices. However, I find that there is still too much me-ism even here to get people to come together in community to reconnect with nature and each other. Maybe it’s me, because I’ve gotten used to being apart from others who were so caught up in the social consumerism culture. I would like to see a gathering of others who appreciate the importance of creating healthy soil, reconnecting with nature and with each other and rediscovering the real human needs of health, nutrition, good sleep and interpersonal connections and relationships. Small groups of up to 30 people would be great for meeting and planning and sharing ideas, stories, music and dance, theater and fun. Anyone in Eugene? I have a small bookkeeping practice that I would like to connect with other small businesses interested in a more interdependent economic structure.
Hello, William. Sorry for the late reply. Thank you for your interest. I’m pretty sure there is a Free Cascadia Eugene group on Facebook. I hope that helps. I’m not aware of anything specifically related to businesses. We were actually trying to start something like that last year but it fell apart. Thank you.