Someone recently asked me, "Is there such an animal as a separatist who is also a Separationist?"

My answer: Those separatists advocating the separation of Quebec from Canada, the Basque region from Spain, Kalistan from India, and Kurdestan from Turkey and Iraq, who also favor the separation of school and state in their new countries, could proudly and accurately call themselves Separationist separatists.

You may think I am being mirthful to the point of trivia, but the truth is that what we are called will affect how people understand us. We need to pick a name that conveys something (hence, avoid acronyms at all times such as SOSAS, etc.), and that is not so self-serving that the press will refuse to use it (e.g., TOPWGEI, The Only People With Good Education Ideas).

Dallas Morning News columnist Bill Muchison was the first to call us Separationists, and he is a journalist, so one of their own fraternity invented the name. It is not particularly charming or warm, but neither was "abolitionist." The warmth will come with familiarity and repeated exposure to our volunteers and leaders, especially when they are respectful and avoid ad hominem adversity.

This article is copyrighted by the Alliance for the Separation of School & State. Permission is granted to freely distribute this article as long as this copyright notice is included in its entirety.

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