[Red Phillips]

If you mean by conservative the rigorous maintenance of the status quo, then you are correct. But if the word conservative has any ideological content, then I believe you are wrong. We have come so far to the left and toward centralization and big, unrestricted government, that a return of our country to its original design will take very radical measures. Secession is one of them.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "more sweeping agenda." If you mean southern independence, then I concede that is the agenda of the LOS. But if you are implying that they have a racist agenda, then I invite you to visit their site, www.dixienet.org. Much of the leadership are academics or thoughtful people who have written books. If anything, they are intellectuals, and they do not like purely racist hater, KKK types because they view them as ignorant and a hindrance to the cause.

[x]

The problem is that if you look back 50 or 100 or 150 years ago it's hard to see that Southerners were especially freer than people in other parts of the country. Breaking up the country would have done little more than to replace federal authority -- quite weak until the mid 20th century -- with powerful and overbearing local elites.

You may not like how things are now, but a look around the world may confirm that breaking up the country into smaller ones is likely to make things worse rather than better. Freedom for like-thinking people to impose whatever rules they prefer isn't always compatible with real liberty for individuals, as history shows.

If flying the Confederate battle flag or naval jack isn't a non-political tribute to brave men who fought and died years ago, but a statement in favor of disunion, it's hard to see how this will help advance your cause with most Americans or most Southerners.