cede, if secession were to take place withoutrnviolent resistance, the only hope forrnit would be to persuade the existing politicalrnregime to grant a right to it. Arnright to secession can pertain only tornstates—not to regions, races, religions, orrnideological reflexes, which are often thernproposed seceding “units.” Moreover,rnit is all but inconceivable that the existingrnnational regime would ever grant anyrnexplicit right to secede from it—for thernsame reason that Lincoln understood.rnAcknowledgment of any such right is, ifrnnot a prescription for anarchy as Lincolnrnclaimed, at least a prescription for thernsuicide of the larger unit that acknowledgesrnit, and to recognize the secessionrnof one unit or group would lead at oncernto recognition of every other unit aspiringrnto independence. What that meansrnin practice is that those asserting a “rightrnto secession” can never expect to gainrnrecognition of it, that if they are seriousrnabout it they have to expect to fight forrnit, and that assertion of a right to secessionrnultimately is more or less identical tornan assertion of a right to revolution. Thisrnbrings us back to where we came in.rnThe American right is beginning torntinker with the idea of secession becausernthe serious right, like most of the secessionistsrnwho preceded it, is now beginningrnto perceive that it has lost—thatrnneither Good Old Dutch nor his all-butforgottenrnsuccessor nor any of the leadingrncandidates for President in 1996rnachieved or can achieve much of anythingrnthat the serious right wants andrnthat there appears to be no reasonablernway at this point to mobilize yet anotherrnpopular political movement able to recapturernthe country from the forces ofrnthe left. The most that Reagan, Bush,rnQuayle, et al., succeeded in accomplishingrnwas to teach the left wing of thernDemocratic Party how to mouth soundsrnabout “family values,” low taxes, and patriotismrnand to instruct politicians of allrnstripes in the subtle art of holding officernfor more than a decade without evenrntrying to fulfill any of the promises andrnprinciples by which they gained office inrnthe first place.rnBut the sad truth is that the seriousrnright will be unable to make use of secessionismrnas an alternative to politicalrnvictory within the present nation-staternfor the same reasons it has lost the politicalrncontest in the first place. The rightrnhas lost the political contest within thernnation simply because it lacks, and isrngenerally uninterested in gaining, sufficientrncultural power and influence tornsustain a political victory. Even when itrnwins elections, it lacks the power to govern,rnand it continually lacks the power torngovern because the right refuses to understandrnthat outside of a dictatorshiprnyou cannot govern unless you first enjoyrncultural power.rnWhat, then, would a successful secessionistrnsystem be like? Unless thernright first undertakes and completes itsrnown long march through the culture, arnsecessionist system would merely replicaternmost of the flaws, vices, errors, misconceptions,rnand dominant interests thatrnnow afflict the larger nation. It is easy tornsay that the vicious habits and interestsrnthat have brought the nation to its presentrnpass are all located in Washington,rnand if only we could get rid of Washingtonrn(or New York, or Hollywood) allrnwould be well. The truth is that corruptionrnand oppression flourish in Washington,rnNew York, and Hollywood becausernthey either sprout from state andrnlocal ground or are tolerated, rewarded,rnand encouraged at those levels of governmentrnby the very people who arc supposedrnto remove these wicked ways by secedingrnfrom them.rnSeccssionism, then, is at best onernmore fantasy by which the right canrnavoid dealing with the problems it andrnthe nation face and doing what it has torndo if it ever wants to accomplish anythingrnmore than chatter and fundraising.rnThe American right has longrnbeen full of such fantasies, usually centeredrnon a return to some mythical pastrngolden age where all was well. ThernUtopia of the past has varied from factionrnto faction of the right—the Middle Ages,rnthe Old South, the Ancien Regime, thernGilded Age, the pre-New Deal 1920’s, orrn(for neoconservatives) the era of ColdrnWar liberalism of the 1950’s and 60’s.rnWhat the American right has neverrndone is try to construct, slowly and patiently,rnan apparatus of cultural powerrnthat can challenge the corruption thatrnnow dominates the nation, attract a followingrnfrom the contemporary Americanrnmainstream, and sustain whatever politicalrnefforts the right is able to undertake.rnOnce the right wants to do that and isrnable to do it, then it might also be able tornlead a secessionist movement that couldrnachieve something worth achieving. Butrnof course once the right is able to takernback its culture, it won’t need to followrnthe losers’ road of seccssionism anyway.rnAmerica’srnFirstrnSilverrnDollar Real legal tender of thern13 Colonies and early U.S.rnStruck in silver-rich New Spainrnfrom 1772 to 1825, these magnificentrnsilver dollars were popularlyrnused in the 13 Colonies and remainedrnofficial legal tender in thernUnited States untill857.Denominatedrn8 Reales (or 8 bits), theyrnwere the most favored trade silverrndollars in the world. Clipperrnships carried them to China,rnwhere our Fine quality was found,rnbearing “chopmarks” of Chinesernmerchants who tested the silver.rnEach big 39mm .903 fine silverrndollar comes with a certificate ofrnauthenticity. While supplies last,rnprices are as follows: 1-2 coins,rn$89 each; 3-4 coins, $85 each; 5-9rncoins, $82 each; 10 coins, $795rn(save $95). Limit 10. Orderrn#7144A.rnTo order by credit card, call tollfreern1-800-451-4463 at any time.rnOr send a check or money orderrnto: International Coins & Currency,rnInc., 11E. State St., Box 218,rnDept.3065,Montpelier,VT 05601.rnAdd just $2 for postage. Specialrnpresentation cases for individualrncoins are $2.50 each. 100% satisfactionrnguarantee: full 30-day returnrnprivilege.rn”We won’t keep you waiting”rnSermng collectors for 20 yearsrn3065rnAUGUST 1994/11rnrnrn