Tyranny of the majority: Is secession a justified response?

From Colorado counties proposing secession to Crimea voting to break-away from Ukraine; and from Venice adopting unofficial independence status to Scotland wanting to dissolve the 307 year-old marriage with England – Who’d have thought we are living in an age of social contract renewal?

Over the past four months – majorities in 5 out of 11 counties voted to become the 51st US State; an

unbelievable 96% of Crimeans voted to join Russia; 89% of Venetians voted to create independent city-state within Italy; and in September Scottish voters will take to the polls to decide whether to become a free and independent country.

Opponents of these secessionist movements have quickly taken to the bully pulpit to point out the unconstitutionality of these votes. What if it’s illegal to vote for smaller regions, such as a county, to secede from lager entities, such as states or nations? Does a law make separatists feelings “go-away”?

Secessionist ideas do not begin at the ballot box or in a parliamentary chamber. The ideas of dissolving the bands that tie one region to another begin with disaccord and minority dissatisfaction – tyranny of the majority. Where one political party dominates and punishes the opposition or one geo-cultural group forces its views onto another.

Under the US Constitution, no mention is made of an acceptable dissolution of the union. The Civil War and the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas v. White (1869) arguably established the Constitution ordained a perpetual and indissoluble union.

In 1776, when the founders declared independence from the United Kingdom, that act was in violation of the British Constitution’s supremacy of parliament. If there had been any doubt of Parliament’s authority, The Declaratory Act of 1766, which asserted the right of Parliament to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever," would have settled the question.

To consider our founders revolutionaries seems abhorrent. The situation was an impasse, Parliament told the colonists to ‘go pound sand’ and the colonists responded by crafting a legal justification based on social contract theory, tyranny of the majority, and natural law.

Colorado counties which proposed secession; orange is where measure passed. 

As for the Colorado counties wanting to follow the West Virginia Model, that dream ended when the 69^th Colorado General Assembly adjourned on May 7^th.

Under Article 4 §3 of the US Constitution, no new state can be created from within an existing state without the consent of both the state’s general assembly and Congress.

Without the Colorado legislature taking action, our state will remain intact. Remaining united is not to say the dissatisfaction with the Democrats who control the governor’s office and legislature has gone away.

Similar to Colorado, the Crimea and Venice referendums were a protest to majority tyrannizing the minority. Unlike Colorado, Crimea’s vote was unconstitutional. Venice’s ballot was unofficial.

The Ukrainian Constitution specifically states in Article 73: “Alterations to the territory of Ukraine shall be resolved exclusively by the All-Ukrainian referendum.”

Many have argued the Crimea referendum was illegal according to Public International Law.

Firstly, under the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933), four requires must be satisfied to be considered an independent nation: permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into diplomatic relations.

Secondly, a country must be recognised by another country.

Crimea, a peninsula region in the Black Sea. 

The Crimean referendum asked voters whether they wanted to join Russia as a federal subject or restore the 1992 Crimean Constitution which granted greater authority to the regional parliament. With 83% voter turn-out, 96% voted in-favor of joining Russia. This act was certainly illegal under the Ukrainian Constitution, but as for International law, the jury is still out.

The Venice ballot asked voter whether they wanted to secede from Italy and become and independent city-state. With 65% of the region voting, a whopping 89% or 2.1 million people voted in-favor of breaking away from Rome! The Italian Government had no fear of Venice actually breaking away, as the referendum had been unofficial.

Much like rural Colorado having difficult with Denver listening; Crimea has a Kiev problem; Venice a Rome problem; and Scotland, an English problem.

On September 18^th, Scots will take to the polls to decide their fate. Legally, Scotland has the same problem the American Colonists had with the British Constitution, namely the supremacy of parliament.

The UK Parliament in London has the ability to enact or resend any legislation, including the grant of independence. The Edinburgh Agreement, merely a gentleman’s handshake, is where the UK Parliament has pre-agreed to acquiesce to the outcome of the referendum.

While the votes remain to be cast, one thing is certain, laws banning secession don’t make secessionist ideas go away. Revolution and civil war should be avoided. Elections, whether official or unofficial; lawful or unlawful should be a wake-up call to majority-leaders who are unwilling to respect the ideologies, customs, or traditions of minority constituencies.

Re: The U.K. faces a bad breakup

Lord George Robertson’s Jan. 6th opinion editorial in The Washington Post completely ignored Scotland’s legitimate right to be free of English tyranny. During my 3 1/2 years of study at the University of Edinburgh, I supported the Free Scotland Movement and participated in the rally featured in the column’s photo.

In 1783 the America seceded from England after winning a bloody Revolution, so why then can’t Scotland

peaceably secede in 2014?

Eight hundred years ago at the Battle of Bannockburn, Scotland won her first major victory against the English. In a modern era, nations should be free to peaceably dissolve the bands that chain one to another. A democratic vote is not re-Balkanizing Europe; the Romans struggled to reign in the feudal estates.

The 670-page Blueprint for Scotland, carefully crafted by academics and policy makers, is the most comprehensive guide to independence ever written. The “Better Together” proponents, such as Lord Robertson, have merely mocked the Blueprint.

The problem is that London dictates how Scots should live their lives. The Scots are overly taxed, overly regulated, and the English openly discriminate against the Scottish people. That is why Scotland deserves to join the United States in be free of English rule.

A people should be free to determine their own destiny.

Climbing Ben Nevis, hiking the Highlands & touring Isle of Skye

Summit of Ben Nevis with friends Marco & Brett

Last weekend I went with some English and Italian friends to climb Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles and then to see the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye. The climb was amazing, as we started at sea level, as the mountain is next to a tidal loch and climbed (walked) to the top. The weather changed rapidly and went from sunny to pouring rain to hail and finally snow. The mountain (4,409 ft tall) is barely a hill for Colorado standards, yet it has claimed more lives than Mount Everest. As a matter of fact, one person died on the top the day after we summited. Our group was seven and we had planned to encounter the elements so we took winter and waterproof gear. The wind along the way was up to 57 mph, which at times made me feel quite cold, but the views were amazing during the walk up to the top. 

Eilean Donan Castle

After summiting Ben Nevis we drove to Eilean Donan Castle, which is located in another tidal loch (at the intersection of Loch Alsh and Loch Duich) with links to the Sea of Hebrides and The Minch. The castle was built in the mid-1200s to prevent Viking attacks and to safeguard trade routes. The castle was partially destroyed during the Jacobite uprising in 1719. The castle may have been rebuilt earlier, however the nobleman who owned the land had volunteered to teach the American rebels a lesson and was subsequently captured and died in an American POW camp after being captured in October 1780 at the Battle of King's Mountain (South Carolina). In 1911, MacRae's grandson, Lt Col MacRae-Gilstrap, acquired the property and had the castle rebuilt as the headquarters for the Clan McRae. MacRae-Gilstrap placed the property into a charitable trust (Conchra Charitable Trust) to avoid death taxes and capital gains on his heirs and for the benefit of the public and preservation of history and heritage. The castle is reserved for a two week period during the year for the exclusive use as a summer cottage for Baroness Miranda van Lynden and Maj Gen Alistair Stewart. Eilean Donan is idyllic Scotland, as it is situated in a loch, with rising highlands and moors surrounding the magical castle with heather and gorse on the bonnie banks of the brae.

view of Scottish Highlands from Plockton

From Eilean Donan we continued driving the A87 to Plockton, a small fishing and holidaying village which is in the situated with vistas of both Scotland's Highland mountains and the Isle of Skye. It has tidal or sea lochs on one side and the Hibernian Sea on the other. I included a photo from this village (it is the one with the fishing boat and houses and highlands). One of the girls suggested we do a ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance), being that I knew a few steps I was persuaded to led out. Some neighbours watching us out their window came running to join and pretty soon we were doing multiple dances and more and more people joined till our original seven had grown to 14! It was unbelievable - I have never seen such a thing, but in the movies - Plockton is definitely a special place and for the few hours we were there felt like a little Heaven on Earth. 

Red Cuillins on the Isle of Skye

On the Isle of Skye we hiked in the Cuillin hills toured the Talisker whiskey distillery - the weather was brilliant and did not produce any rain! Talisker was a lot of fun and was the only tour I've been on where they gave you samples before and after and the locals asked you to describe Colorado. I should be getting paid for the marketing and publicity I give my home state while travelling ;-) The whiskey was very good, as it had both a hint of peat and the smoky arromas and smell of sea mist. The Cuillins are divided into the reds and blacks, based on the minerals in the rocks. The odd thing is that only a glen separates the reds from the blacks (the photo of me hiking is from the Cuillins). Skye was also very beautiful and in classic Scottish tradition, there are not many trees and what trees there are were imported from the United States over the last 150 years. The Scots like to say there were trees on all the hills, but the English burned them or cut them down to build the Royal Navy of the British Empire. This is not accurate, as much of the lands are too acidic for trees and bog land is good for peat, but does not produce a stable environment for forests. That said, it is speculated that the result of baron hills is from making range land for cattle and especially sheep and that just like the rain forests in Brazil, when the forests are cut down, they are never able to be replaced due to the acidity of the soil. I don't know if I believe this, but it is a theory. None the less, the treeless Highlands have become a trademark of Scotland if forests could be re-grown, they would defeat the image Scotland has sold for the world for the last 300+ years. 

hill walking in the Highlands

Upon arriving back in Edinburgh I have kept busy by researching about the law of Maritime Piracy, as I am looking to publish and article on the topic and played several games of tennis, along with playing tourist by climbing the Admiral Lord Nelson Monument which was built in Edinburgh to commemorate the victory of the French Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar. I went with an American-French friend who pointed out that the story was completely different than what his mother had taught him. I have also been trying to plan gaps in my summer and catch up on unreturned emails and possibilities for post-bar internships.