The Democratic State of New America is a breakaway sovereign land that I founded and that I now lead. Since 1996, I have been pushing for recognition of New America as a separate nation, independent of the United States, for the U.S. has sunken pell-mell into fascism since the mid-1990s. The United States is no longer a leader in equality and basic freedom as it was a quarter-century ago--a fact that can be backed up with enough news items and statistics to fill a book the size of a dictionary.

I first publicized the idea of New America in The Last Word in 1994, responding to a host of populist grievances. The movement gained momentum when--of all things--I was thrown out of a neighborhood grocery store for failing to produce an ID when attempting to buy fireworks, which was a violation of rights implied by the Constitution.

Folks in Highland Heights, Ky., favored formation of New America in 1996. Campbell County was among the most authoritarian communities in America, but in this politically polarized area, one could still find pockets of resistance to the right-wing regime that ruled the courthouse. The Constitution of New America was quickly scribbled down, although this document was scrapped just as quickly, as the U.S. Constitution (which the U.S. government ignores) can be adapted to New America without changing a word: New America is actually a continuation of the United States' progressing democratic tradition that was put on pause when the right wing of the Republican Party began rolling back societal advances in the '80s and '90s. So in reality, we are not actually seceding from the United States--rather, the rest of the country is, because the rest of the U.S. is failing to reject public policies that openly scoff at the basic liberties and human rights that America is supposed to stand for. This incarnation of New America was established as a circle with a radius of two miles centered on Highland Heights.

In 1997, my inner-city Highland Heights apartment was destroyed when sewage from new subdivisions for the rich began backing up into older dwellings. I then set up shop in Bellevue and declared my new apartment the New American Embassy. In 1998, New America claimed part of Santa Rosa Sound near Pensacola, Fla.

About 11,000 peeps live within two miles of Highland Heights, in an area of about 12.6 square miles. That is not too small to be a country, as Vatican City is recognized as a sovereign nation yet has only 840 peeps and is about one-sixth of a square mile.

New America was inactive in 1999, which was one of the few years in recent U.S. history that saw a decline in rightist tyranny. But in 2000, New America roared back with a revised approach and with slightly different geographic boundaries. The justification for seceding from the U.S. is the fact that our city block in Bellevue was deliberately skipped in the census, so it would not count when boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts are redrawn and would also lose perhaps millions of dollars in federal funds. The reason the fascist federal government skipped our block is that it has an exceptionally high ratio of registered Democrats over Republicans. Nothing more, nothing less. In addition, the Silver Grove Bored of Education decided at a secret meeting to do away with most of summer vacation, without soliciting input from the public. This is an out-and-out case of assault, because it endangers the health standards of the entire area.

I was born in 1973, so as a youth, I was taught that I lived in a place called America, where we had freedom to do what we wanted as long as it didn't harm others. But I no longer consider myself a United Stater, so out of step is the government of the U.S. (especially Congress) with the values that were instilled in me when I was young. Just as states in the U.S. issue photo IDs, I have an official New American ID. I do not view New America as being subject to U.S. laws or taxes: After all, we were left off the census and thus have no representation in congressional gerrymandering, so why should we--or any other place ignored by the census--follow the laws Congress passes?

The leading political party in New America is the New American Labor Party.

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