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Floridians
and wannabees
04/23/07 - This is the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Conch
Republic, the fictional country born out of the protests of an outraged
citizenry in the Florida Keys. The US Border Patrol had set up a
checkpoint on US 1, the only highway in or out of the Keys, and were
carefully inspecting every vehicle for drugs and illegal aliens. With
traffic backed up for more than 20 miles, the tourism-dependent
island chain felt their very breathe being choked off at the checkpoint,
so they did what any independent-spirited people would do: they
seceded, and declared war on the United States.
The "war" consisted of pelting a Naval official with a loaf of stale
Cuban break, after which the Conch Republic surrendered and
applied for $1 billion in foreign aid. They never got the aid, but they
got at least that much in publicity, with the story making news across
the planet.
Today you can find Conch Republic flags in far-flung and unlikely
places around the world, such as Baumfaulk's bar in Bocas del Toro,
Panama. You can buy a Conch Republic passport, or visit a
"Conch-sulate" in Austria. And you can attend the festivities that will
last all week long in the capital of the Conch Republic, Key West.
'People often ask me: Is the Conch Republic un-American? Isn't this
sedition? Treason?'' says Peter Anderson, the Conch Republic's
Secretary General. ``I tell them: No, quite the opposite. The Conch
Republic represents what is best about America -- people unafraid to
stand up to government gone mad with power.''
Republic, the fictional country born out of the protests of an outraged
citizenry in the Florida Keys. The US Border Patrol had set up a
checkpoint on US 1, the only highway in or out of the Keys, and were
carefully inspecting every vehicle for drugs and illegal aliens. With
traffic backed up for more than 20 miles, the tourism-dependent
island chain felt their very breathe being choked off at the checkpoint,
so they did what any independent-spirited people would do: they
seceded, and declared war on the United States.
The "war" consisted of pelting a Naval official with a loaf of stale
Cuban break, after which the Conch Republic surrendered and
applied for $1 billion in foreign aid. They never got the aid, but they
got at least that much in publicity, with the story making news across
the planet.
Today you can find Conch Republic flags in far-flung and unlikely
places around the world, such as Baumfaulk's bar in Bocas del Toro,
Panama. You can buy a Conch Republic passport, or visit a
"Conch-sulate" in Austria. And you can attend the festivities that will
last all week long in the capital of the Conch Republic, Key West.
'People often ask me: Is the Conch Republic un-American? Isn't this
sedition? Treason?'' says Peter Anderson, the Conch Republic's
Secretary General. ``I tell them: No, quite the opposite. The Conch
Republic represents what is best about America -- people unafraid to
stand up to government gone mad with power.''
