MOULTRIE — There’s an old expression sometimes referred to as a proverb: “This too shall pass.”

And no, I’m not talking about kidney stones or the opera.

I’m talking about this absurd talk about secession from the United States.

The other day I heard someone proclaim that 36 states had filed to secede from the union. That implies that the state governments via their General Assemblies have made such a declaration. That’s not the case.

Within several states some people who were very dissatisfied with the presidential election launched an internet campaign for petitions of secession. And regardless of how one feels about the presidential vote, it simply ain’t gonna happen. It’s just a way for people to vent. And for the most part, it seems a safe way to vent.

However, those who signed up probably did not think this thing through. What they’ve unwittingly done is give the federal government a list, state by state, of people to be on a “watch list.”  That’s how irony works sometimes. These are probably the same people who complain most about “Big Brother” watching them and now they have suckered themselves. Smile for the camera boys!

Of course Big Brother already knows more about us than we suspect and can find out anything else it wants to know. And too, this all assumes that those were legitimate names. I’ve come to understand that a lot bogus stuff can be generated by computers.

All in all though, these people have embraced their freedom of speech. But filing petitions to secede is a lot like hunting for Bigfoot ... you know from the get-go you’re not going to find him. So you chase into shadows with a bravado that suggests you will hog tie this creature single-handedly and bring him into town.

Let’s say by some great stretch of the imagination that several states did secede. Now whatcha gonna do? Some of these states are not contiguous, so what you would have are 30 or so small countries. Who’s going to provide you federal funds when you need them? And please don’t tell me you will be self-sufficient. That one is on the shelf right along side the one about Jack and the Bean Stalk.

Will you mint your own currency? And how would the NFL function? Can you see the difficulty in trying to organize a Super Bowl? How would you feel about your kids living in another country?

I watched that video taken on Black Friday in the shopping center of a mob fighting over a cell phone or whatever it was. That’s a reminder that humankind is just a dab of DNA away from being wild animals. That potential would be magnified greatly in the many issues that a secession of states would produce. You could have a lot of “black and blue” Fridays I would expect.

There’s one other thing to remember. The last time secession was attempted, it didn’t turn out well.

One news report said the White House has said it will review any petition of more than 25,000 names and would respond to those petitioners. Reportedly a couple of the petitions have that many names. That’s about one third of a good crowd at a Division One football game. And how many times have they been successful at petitioning the refs to change a call?

Voicing one’s displeasure in the outcome of a political process is okay. It’s actually part of our democratic foundation. But again,  if your kids go out looking for Bigfoot you don’t have to worry about what might happen if they find him. Likewise we don’t have to worry about having to have a sack full of visas every time we want to visit uncle Pete in Indiana.

Oh before I forget my English literature, there’s another saying made famous by William Shakespeare: “Much ado about nothing.”

(Email: dwain.walden@gaflnews.com)