The Southern National Congress, now grown to some 120 Delegates from the fourteen Southern States and a broader Internet “family” of some 1300 supporters, will convene on September 11-13, 2009. The Second Congress will take place at Cheahea State Park and Resort, Delta, AL. [Link]
The First Congress in December 2008 was an unqualified success. 100 Delegates met in December 2008 near Hendersonville, NC to complete our first and most vital task, giving birth to a “…means by which Southerners regain control of their own destiny. The pathway to that goal is an independent forum in which we Southerners can voice our interests -- a forum with moral authority and legitimacy because it will reflect the wishes and concerns of the Southern people,” in the words of Ray McBerry, member of the SNC Board, President of Dixie Broadcasting, and candidate for Governor of Georgia.
The First Congress accepted Maryland as a Represented State and took up a number of resolutions addressing the most urgent threats to Southern liberty, identity, and prosperity. Our resolutions, called Remonstrances and Petitions for a Redress of Grievance, are models of clear thinking and sound principles. They demonstrate that the SNC will say what no other political representative body can or will say, and that we do speak authoritatively on behalf of the Southern commonwealth. Read the full Remonstrances at this link: [Link]
Openings Remain for a Few New Delegates
The SNC Board of Governors is issuing this Call for Delegates to the Second Congress. Southern men and women of good will and good character and who meet the qualifications discussed below are invited to apply.
A few Delegates slots remain open for the Represented States, which are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Each State will have one vote in the Congress, regardless of its number of Delegates attending.
Observers are welcome from Oklahoma and from “Southerners Abroad”; that is, Southerners residing outside the 14 Represented States. Observers will be non-voting Delegates. They will enjoy Floor privileges and the right to address the assembly, but not a vote.
What Is the Southern National Congress?
The Southern National Congress is a representative assembly of citizens of the Southern States, providing an alternative, legitimate forum to express Southern grievances and advance Southern interests in a way that is no longer possible through today’s political process or the major political parties.
The SNC was organised around the proposition that we Southerners are a separate and distinct people, rooted in kinship and place, with a common culture and history. In other words, we are a nation. We respect the rights of other national and ethnic communities to self-preservation and self-determination, and we demand the same. But we Southerners won’t restore our rights unless we assert them ourselves.
The SNC seeks to reclaim the political legacy of great Southerners like Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and John C. Calhoun. That legacy is individual liberty and a small central government of checks and balances, limited to its enumerated powers; and which is the creation, the servant, and the agent of the sovereign people acting through their respective States. These principles, enacted in the U.S. Constitution of 1789, have been irretrievably violated. The Federal Government today is engaged in “a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evincing a design to reduce us under absolute Despotism,” as Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence.
The U.S. Congress no longer represents the people’s interests; it represents the interests of the highest bidder, the big corporations and money power. Through oppression, greed, corruption, incompetence, and imperial folly, the centralised state in Washington has forfeited its moral authority. Decent, honourable people of the South who still love liberty and justice, and who seek to preserve their livelihoods, their identity, and their heritage have no choice but to withdraw their consent from the corrupt Regime centered in Washington and New York. But withdrawing our consent is not enough. The People are sovereign, not the temporary politicians we have elected or the governmental structures we have created in the past. We must exercise our sovereignty and create alternative, legitimate institutions which speak for us and to which we can transfer our consent. This is the principle behind the SNC.
What Will the Second Congress Do?
The Second Congress will continue the process of voicing Southern concerns and grievances, but we will broaden our agenda by addressing concerns to our fellow Southerners as well as speaking on their behalf. We are living in perilous times. The economy and financial system are in continuing meltdown. The Federal Government, under the sway of Wall Street and the big money cartel, is engaged in the greatest act of plunder of U.S. citizens in human history. As conditions become worse, the police-state despotism of the Regime threatens our lives and liberties as never before.
More than at any time in recent history, Southerners need to rally around their historic ideals and identity. Only by remaining true to ourselves as Southerners can we make it through troubled times that are bearing down on us.
As before, the Second Congress will consider Remonstrances offered from the Floor. We will also consider several pre-drafted measures, among which the principal ones are:
Proclamation calling for a national day of repentance and intercessory prayer for the Southern nation.
Southern National Covenant. (More details to follow).
Resolution and Appeal aimed at Southern magistrates, sheriffs, police agencies, and the National Guard, reminding them whom they serve (not the corrupt Regime in Washington). It will appeal to them not to participate in the unlawful suppression of our liberties, expropriation of our property, or attempts to confiscate our mean of self-defense if the Federal Government declares a national emergency or imposes martial law.
Drafts of these resolutions will be circulated to Delegates several weeks in advance of the Second Congress.
What Are the Qualifications to Become a Delegate?
There are formal qualifications and informal qualifications.
First, there are no restrictions based on race, creed, or sex.
The formal qualifications are as follows:
A Delegate must be a resident of one of the 14 Southern States cited above.
A Delegate must be 18 years of age on the date of the initial session of the Congress, September 11, 2009.
A Delegate must be willing to affirm the following: I believe that I have a duty to my home State. I believe that the Southern people are a distinct people. I believe in the right of voice, the right of preservation, and the right of recognition, for the South and her people.
Other qualifications are related to the character of the individual Delegates and include the following:
Maturity and judgment. Delegates need to be mature, purposeful, and wise in discerning the perils of the times we live in. They should be well schooled in the traditional Southern principles of liberty, individual responsibility, and independence. They also need to understand human nature and practical politics. A sense of humour is also welcome, and that usually comes with maturity.
Self-sacrifice. The SNC is not for the vainglorious, the egotistical, or the contentious. Southerners are proud and combative by nature. This fighting blood is strong in our culture; indeed, it’s one of our virtues. But it must be tempered with self-discipline and self-sacrifice. Be able to “deny yourself,” in the words of Robert E. Lee.
Realism. The SNC is not play-acting. It is a serious enterprise with high stakes, based on the example of our ancestors of the Revolution more than of the War Between the States. It is not an effort to create a make-believe Confederacy or a forum for reliving a romanticised Southern past. A high degree of realism is necessary to be an SNC Delegate.
Courage. The SNC does not advocate or engage in breaking any law, by word, deed, or thought. But we live under a Regime that is increasingly lawless. It ignores any law it chooses, including the Constitution; and it criminalises any dissenting word, deed, or thought it chooses. Taking part in the Congress is by its nature a form of dissent. In normal times it would be a Constitutionally protected act. But today it could bring you to the attention of surveillance-and-police-state authorities; and they may arbitrarily ascribe “unlawful” motives to your participation. These are some of the stakes we mentioned above. You need to engage in serious reflection before you commit. You need moral and physical courage and must be prepared to exercise it.
Charity and magnanimity. We seek Delegates with a spirit of Christian charity toward all others, including black Southerners. They are a part of the South, have been, and always will be. Black Southerners have contributed immeasurably to the building of our country. Black and white Southerners share many things in common, including religious faith, manners, and attitudes toward life that are part of our distinctiveness. We don’t deceive ourselves about the many problems besetting the black community, but we believe we must seek constructive solutions together rather then engage in mutual blame-casting and recrimination. We encourage black as well as white Southerners to become Delegates.
Resources. You must have the necessary means to take part. Regrettably, we are not able to offer a stipend or defray Delegates’ individual costs. Daily accommodations at Cheaha State Park are quite reasonable, but we recognize travel expenses may be considerable for Delegates coming from long distances. We also recognize that we can never regain and safeguard our liberty without some sacrifice.
Clearly, the SNC is not for everyone, and there are space limitations on how many Delegates we can accommodate. But if you feel called to play a unique leadership role in the life of the Southern nation in these challenging times, and if you meet the requirements spelled out above, then we welcome you as a Delegate. Please fill out the Delegate Application eForm. We will forward your name to your State’s SNC Delegation Chairman who will contact you.
If you wish to participate in some way other than as a Delegate, we also need volunteers to handle publicity and media relations, administration and logistics, and other critical support functions. Please become an SNC Volunteer and tell us how you’d like to help by filling out the SNC Volunteer eForm. For more detailed information about the role and purpose of the Congress, please consult the SNC website, www.southernnationalcongress.org.
The Southern National Congress, now grown to some 120 Delegates from the fourteen Southern States and a broader Internet “family” of some 1300 supporters, will convene on September 11-13, 2009. The Second Congress will take place at Cheahea State Park and Resort, Delta, AL. [
