The White House politely shot down the secession petitions
circulating on the White House petition website late Friday, dashing the
hopes of malcontents who have submitted petitions to allow their states
to withdraw from the union in the wake of President Obama's reelection
last November.
"Democracy can be noisy and
controversial. And that's a good thing," wrote Jon Carson, director of
the White House's Office of Public Engagement. "Free and open debate is
what makes this country work...But as much as we value a healthy debate,
we don't let that debate tear us apart."
Carson offered the would-be secessionists a history lesson,
explaining that the Constitution guarantees "the right to change our
national government through the power of the ballot - a right that
generations of Americans have fought to secure for all. But they did not
provide a right to walk away from it."
He also invoked
the sad history of the Civil War as a cautionary tale for those who
would so casually seek a repeat of our bloodiest conflict, writing,
"More than 600,000 Americans died in a long and bloody civil war that
vindicated the principle that the Constitution establishes a permanent
union between the States."
"So let's be clear," Carson wrote, "No one disputes that our
country faces big challenges, and the recent election followed a
vigorous debate about how they should be addressed."
"We will need to work together - and hear from one another - in order to find the best way to move forward."
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