On the Spark of the Idea

Interviewer: What first convinced you that independence was not just a fringe idea, but a necessary goal?
Founder: It wasn't a single moment, but a slow accretion of disillusionment. Watching our towns struggle while Washington bailed out banks. Seeing our forests managed for out-of-state profits. Realizing that no matter who we voted for, the policies damaging our communities never changed. I reread the history of the Vermont Republic and it clicked: we weren't always governed from afar. That spirit of self-reliance wasn't just folklore—it was a lived reality. The idea became necessary when I saw it as the only logical conclusion of our values.

Defining the Vision for a Second Republic

Interviewer: Describe the Vermont you're working towards.
Founder: A Vermont where every child knows where their food and water come from. Where our economy exists to serve our people and our land, not the other way around. We see a nation of town meetings scaled up—a participatory democracy where your voice isn't lost in a sea of 330 million. It's a place with universal healthcare, free education through university, and a right to a healthy environment written into the constitution. It's not about building walls; it's about building a home that reflects who we are, at a human scale. We're not utopians; we're pragmatists who believe small can work better.

The Greatest Obstacles: Internal and External

Interviewer: What are the biggest hurdles?
Founder: Internally, it's fear and dependency. Many Vermonters, while sympathetic, fear economic collapse. 'How would we pay for roads? What about defense?' These are valid questions we must answer thoroughly. The other internal hurdle is the 'brain drain'—our young people leaving. We need to show them a future here worth staying for. Externally, the hurdle is the immense political and possibly legal resistance from Washington. We don't expect a welcome party. Our strategy is to build such undeniable moral, democratic, and practical legitimacy that opposition becomes untenable. We must make independence seem inevitable, not impossible.

The Path from Here to There

Interviewer: What are the concrete next steps for the movement?
Founder: Education, institution-building, and political pressure. First, we continue the work of the Institute: researching, publishing, holding community forums. We need to normalize the conversation. Second, we build parallel structures—cooperative banks, local energy grids, community land trusts—that demonstrate our capacity for self-governance and create resilience regardless of the political outcome. Third, we work within the existing system to push the envelope: sponsoring bills in Montpelier that assert state sovereignty, putting non-binding independence questions on town meeting warnings, and eventually, pursuing a binding statewide referendum. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

A Message to Skeptics and Supporters Alike

Interviewer: What do you say to those who call this a fantasy?
Founder: I say all nations are fantasies until they aren't. The United States was a fantasy to the British Crown. I ask them to look at the world: small, independent nations consistently top the charts in happiness, health, and environmental performance. The fantasy is believing the current, crumbling, oversized empire can be reformed to care for a place like Vermont. To our supporters, I say: stay patient, stay engaged. Attend your town meeting. Support a local farm. Learn the history of your watershed. Sovereignty isn't just a flag; it's the sum of our daily choices to live like free people on our own land.

  • On Compromise: 'We are open to any arrangement that gives Vermont final authority over its land, laws, and life. If that's a 'special autonomous zone' within the U.S., we'll discuss it. But experience tells us half-measures are revoked by the next Congress.'
  • On Inclusivity: 'This new Vermont is for everyone who commits to its land and community. It's not about where your grandparents were born. It's about a shared commitment to a place and a future.'
  • On Legacy: 'I may not see independence in my lifetime. My job is to plant an acorn of an idea so that my grandchildren can sit in the shade of a sovereign republic.'