As a parent and homeschooler I have frequently found myself saying that one of the reasons we have elected to educate Marianna at home is so she can develop her individuality and her sense of self, to raise her in such a manner as to be a strong leader who is unafraid to stand up for what she knows is right and never, ever follow the proverbial crowd off that 7-Mile Bridge!



Today we participated in a reenactment honoring a group of men who embodied all these points that we would be thrilled to see in our daughter.

25 years ago in April, the United States government set up a Border Patrol Blockade of the Florida Keys. Word quickly spread that although getting in to the beautiful Keys was easy, leaving was not. Every single vehicle exiting would be subjected to an extensive search, a search supposedly targeting Illegal Aliens but the searches mostly included glove boxes and suitcases (hint, hint, fill in the blanks, you're a smart group of people!). Once the beer trucks threatened to cancel deliveries due to the 12-mile, 8-hour traffic back up, something had to be done! This had essentially halted the tourist trade and a group of key Conchs began to protest, stating that it was "A totally American thing to do!"

At the urging of David Paul Horan, a local Conch, the legal route was taken first and an injunction against the government's action was filed in Federal Court in Miami. A town desperate to save itself flew it's 38 year old mayor, Dennis Wardlow, and a few other key players including the pilot Edwin O. Swift and David Paul Horan up to the mainland for an emergency meeting with the federal judge.



After the meeting in which it was decided to dismantle the roadblock after an undesignated period of time and only run periodic roadblocks in the future, Mayor Wardlow famously told the sea of reporters waiting for him outside the courthouse that it was "like a kiss from your sister - meaningless." and that since the Florida Keys were to be treated like a foriegn country they would become one.

The next day, April 23, 1982 in Mallory Square, Mayor Dennis Wardlow and the Council Members climbed on top of a flatbed truck and with the local police, the FBI and the CIA, many television reporters from all the major networks and the BBC filling the Square and even the VFW protesting the sucession, declared the independence of the Conch Republic and named Dennis Wardlow Prime Minister.



He immediately declared war on the United States of America and commenced the battle by breaking a loaf of stale Cuban Bread over the head of an Admiral of the U.S. Navy. One minute later he surrendered to the Admiral and submitted his application for 1 Billion Dollars in Foriegn Aid and War Reparations, an application that is still active 25 years later but which has not been approved yet.

Thus, the Conch Republic, an independent nation separate from the United States, was established. The Republic has, "as its stated Foreign Policy, 'The Mitigation of World Tension through the Exercise of Humor'. As the world's first 'Fifth World' country, we exist as a 'State of Mind', and aspire only to bring more Warmth, Humor and Respect to a planet we find in sore need of all three." Do I want my daughter to exhibit more warmth, more humor and more respect? You bet I do! If she also is gutsy enough one day "to stand up to a government gone mad with power" or even just to stand up locally for a belief she holds dear, then I will call my job as an educator complete.



Have you studied your local history lately?