SAN ANTONIO -- What better way to get the attention of your government, than to ask to leave?

That s what tens of thousands of Texans have done online in a petition to the president. The website was created by the Obama administration to engage Americans with issues important to them. Texans responded.

For generations now we ve been indoctrinated with the idiom 'One nation, indivisible.' Why is it indivisible in the first place? asked Chris, a member of a Texas separatist group.

The petition, filed on the White House website, calls for the peaceful withdrawal of Texas from the Union. This talk is nothing new for a state that at one time was its own republic, winning its independence from Mexico in the 19th century.

Ask Chris why he wants to live in the Republic of Texas and his answer is a simple one: It s all about local control in an age where big government, he says, is out of control.

There is a limit to how big something can get and still be responsive to its citizens, said Chris.

Chris is not alone. Already, more than 80,000 have signed the petition. The Texas Nationalist Movement isn t surprised.

They are beginning to realize the political, cultural and economic gulf between Texas and the rest of the union is quite vast, and it would be better to pursue independence, said Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement.

Texas separatist groups point out that there are countries right now exploring independence, whether it s independence from the European Union or the Arab Spring.

And at least 17 other state petitions for secession are on the White House website, too.

Miller added, Obama didn t bake this cake; this cake s been baking for a long time. He s the one who put the icing and candles on it.

Chris wonders aloud if the United States could even make it to another centennial celebration, given the splintering of voters along lines of political, social, and states' rights issues.

It s more counterproductive for us to remain together. It s best that we go our separate ways, he said.

The threshold for a response from President Obama is for any petition to climb over the 25,000 mark. Yet, the White House hasn t said if, or when, it will respond; there are several loopholes in the terms on the website.
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