Secede To Succeed:

An Address Given
At the October 28, 2005 Vermont Statewide Secession Convention

By Jane Dwinell

Who here loves Vermont?

Who thinks Vermont is a special place?

How many of you are residents of Vermont?

How many of you were born here?

How many of you have ancestors who go back several generations?

My heritage runs deep in this place, this city, this building.

I walked past here every day of my high school career, pausing more often than not to admire Ceres on top of the golden dome. My ancestor, Dwight Dwinell, carved that very lovely statue, the symbol of our agricultural richness.

And my great-grandfather sat in these chambers, elected by the men who knew him well in Randolph in 1904. Farmer, and Grange leader, he was respected enough by the men in town that they nominated him in mid-August, he was elected in September, and came to Montpelier weekly on the train – in between getting in the last of the hay and digging the potatoes -- to serve in the legislative session that ran from October to the first part of December. He then served on the Board of Agriculture.

His wife, Emma, said this in a letter to her daughter, Mary (my grandmother), on December 6, 1904:

“This has been a pleasant day. It snowed a little last night, but not enough for sleighing. Have been to both morning and afternoon [legislative] sessions today. In the House they had a spirited debate on Woman Suffrage and will tomorrow vote on it. I presume they will kill it.”

How right she was. As progressive and forward-thinking as we Vermonters are known to be, Woman Suffrage was just too much for the legislature in 1904.

Today we bring forward a new and forward-thinking idea. Secession.

Funny thing is that I've been thinking about this for years.

When I learned in grade school that Vermont had once been an independent republic, I thought, Well, why not again? Why do we have to be a state? We could do perfectly well as our own country – in relationship with our neighbors and other political bodies around the world.

I guess I've always felt that I lived in a foreign country. Whenever I have traveled and have told people where I lived, it was Vermont, and never the United States. My heart has leapt a beat every time I have come home – whether from Moscow, or Boston, or Montreal, or London or Los Angeles. Vermont is home. Vermont is where my heart lies.

OK, so I'm not a constitutional expert, nor a political scientist, nor any other kind of academic. I do have a perfectly legitimate bachelor's degree in history from the University of Vermont. But what I do have is experience, and a life lived well here on this hallowed ground.

I have been a registered nurse, trained at UVM, working in 3 of our hospitals, and helping to care for my father as he died in a fourth. I have been a small business owner, and a small diversified farmer, and chaplain to the bereaved and the sick and dying, and a pastor to a small rural congregation. I have been a parent, and a homeowner, and a voter, and an activist. I have lived in 5 of our 14 counties.

And what do I think?

I think there are smart, capable, creative folks here in Vermont and that we could do better to serve the people who live here, and that land that we live, work, learn, and walk upon.

We need health care for everyone. We need an educational system that works for our children, and that is not commanded upon from people who do not know what is best for us. We need a public transportation system that is accessible and affordable for all. We need an energy policy that helps us stay warm through these long winters. We need help for our small business owners and our family farmers.

And I don't see any of this coming anytime soon from the federal government.

I'm a strong believer in self-sufficiency and self-reliance. I think we could do better for ourselves. I think that by cutting the apron strings to Washington that Vermont could provide better for our citizens, and our land.

My ancestors came here seven generations ago – my father's side to Calais and my mother's side to Braintree. Those brave people wanted a new life, a better life. They wanted room to move, and a place to create a home, and a living. They were also looking for community, and a new way to be in relation to their neighbors.

What has changed in 230 years?

Those intrepid people who founded the first Vermont Republic wanted this – and so do we. We seek community, and a responsible and reliable living. We want clean air and water and food for our families. We want to have a voice in our civic affairs. We want to care for our elders, and our sick, and our dying. We want community and a reason to be.

We are Vermonters, and for me, that's enough.

Some people may fuss about currency, and Social Security, and, and the U.N., and terminology, what would we do about… you name it, x y or z.

You know, I don't know what we'd do about any of it, because it's not for me to say alone. We are in this together.

What I do know is that there are many small, successful countries around the world today – Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Denmark, just to name a few – who have figured this all out, and I trust that we can too.

Vermonters are creative.

Vermonters are reliable.

Vermonters care about our land, and our people.

We don't know what the future will bring us – no one can know.

The best we can do is to work for the kind of future that we want. We can be the change we want to see. We can create new ways that work for all.

We can secede.

And we can succeed.

We are Vermonters after all -- smart, creative, caring and reliable.

What more do we need?