From the point of view of pure logic, if one opposes secession in principle he becomes ipso facto an advocate of consolidation, which, if taken to its ultimate conclusion, would lead to a world state. If that which is once joined together cannot be rendered asunder for good reason, then world consolidation is inevitable. Liberty is a messy, often complex, state of affairs. Those who condemn secession or devolution frequently complain that it would create great inefficiency and confusion. Indeed, if efficiency and order are to be the rule of the day, then, by all means, let us do away with this silly notion of secession.
Totalitarianism is clearly a much neater package than is freedom.
But to the reasonable man, better the flux of liberty than the efficiency of say, Nazi Germany. Before we Americans throw out the principle of secession as an historical anachronism, let us be sure that the principle is really dead and deserving of burial. Otherwise, we might one day find ourselves, like Gibbon's would-be refugee, seeking to escape the overbearing dictates of a modern Caesar. Like that poor fellow, we will have nowhere to go. The Principle for which we contend is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form.