Posted on 03/01/2005 1:33:00 PM PST by sheltonmac
As a Louisiana native who is now living north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I am well aware of the concerted effort to erase Southern culture from the nation's collective consciousness. I have written numerous articles addressing this social cancer, and every time I do I inevitably hear from people who have the audacity to call me an extremist. "The Civil War is over," they say. "The South lost. Get over it!" Sure. Never mind that those of us who defend the South do so in response to the increasingly virulent attacks on our heritage. Forget that political correctness has blinded the eyes of so many Americans that historical facts can be obscured easily with half-truths and thinly veiled lies. It's amazing how quickly people forget. Secession was at one time viewed as an absolute right retained by the people of the various states, a fact undeniable since it was an act of secession that gave birth to our nation in the first place. Today, anyone who believes that states have a moral and constitutional right to secede is looked upon with the kind of disgust and contempt normally reserved for the criminally insane. Another example of hidden history is the contribution made by black Confederates in the fight against Abraham Lincoln's invasion of the South. Interesting how that always manages to escape notice during Black History Month. Thanks to historical revisionists, facts that once enjoyed mainstream acceptance by the public have been reduced to fictional beliefs espoused by the fringes of society. Most of the controversy today has to do with the display of Confederate symbols. You may recall the heated debate surrounding the Confederate flag that flew above the South Carolina statehouse. The flag sat undisturbed for nearly four decades until the NAACP decided to launch an economic boycott against the state. Legislators eventually crumbled under the political pressure and moved the flag to a nearby monument, but members of the NAACP were upset that the flag remained on Capitol grounds. So, as a sign of their appreciation, they kept the boycott in place. The Associated Press recently reported on Albert Burckhard, army veteran and retired high school teacher, who dressed as a Confederate soldier and buried a Confederate flag in front of the post office in Isle of Wight, Va. Why? Because "everybody knows" that the battle flag is offensive to blacks. Mr. Burckhard's idiotic protest is only the most recent example of self-destructive Southerners in action. All across the South, symbols of the past are disappearing. In Little Rock, Ark., Confederate Boulevard was renamed Springer Boulevard. The University of Mississippi dropped Colonel Reb as its on-field mascot. Georgia changed its state flag in an effort to distance itself from its Confederate history. "Heart of Dixie," Alabama's state slogan, is disappearing from car license plates. Vanderbilt University removed the word "Confederate" from a dormitory, despite the fact that funding assistance for the building was provided by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The sad thing about each of the preceding examples is that all of them occurred in the South. Worse, all of them were perpetrated by Southerners. Believe me when I say that I have heard every criticism and insult that has ever been leveled against the South. But if there's anything worse than a Damn Yankee trying to tell a Southerner how to live or what to think, it's a gutless, guilt-ridden, self-destructive Southerner who has been made to feel ashamed of his heritage to the point where he plays an active role in its destruction.
*ping*
As a southerner living in the north, I understand. I guess we won't be seeing any more of Shirley Temple's "The Little Colonel" either unless one buys the movie.
It's a SOUTHERN THANG, Ya'll won't never unnerstand.......
While I agree with what the thrust of this article - the role of Black Confederates (I am assuming the article was refering to soldiers) is overstated. Yes, there were Blacks, both free and slave that fought in the Confederate armies but they were a minority of a minority. Southern Blacks overall - free and slave - supported the Union efforts.
Try and get a copy of Disney's SONG OF THE SOUTH. Nearly Impossible.
I'm a Michigan Yankee who doesn't have any problem with seeing southern heritage preserved.
I've always lived in the north, but I love to visit the southern states. I love their history, too. I have never been offended by ole Johnny Reb, either! PC sucks.
No kidding. Without the south we wouldn't have anyplace to ship our old folks to.
Nice article!
I do not believe the southern states had a right to secede, and I believe the issue was settled by force of arms. I believe that war to have been a terrible tragedy.
That being said, I admire the men of the south who comprised the southern armies and government. They fought bravely for what they believe. The had great courage, endurance, intelligence, resourcefulness, and honor. The heritage of the Confederacy is indeed worthy of preservation, and MORE than that, to be held up as example of Americans being ready to defend their rights, homes, and country. The people of the Confederacy were, and their descendants are, great Americans.
I live in Pennsylvania. My great great grandfather fought in the Union Army. A year ago, my oldest son [ten then] had to do a school paper on a "Great American" [parochial school. you understand. Nothing great about America seems to allowed in public school anymore]; I suggested Robert E. Lee. He read a good biography and did an excellent paper. We have stood in the shadow of his statue at Gettysburg Park while I have reinforced the greatness of men who fought on both sides that day.
Many in the North would share your desire to preserve that rich heritage.
Great read Sheltonmac. Welcome to the United States of the Offended
I have heard this argument numerous times. Perhaps in a less articulate manner, but in the same vein, country singer Trace Adkins stated on Bill Maher's (now defunct) show that "there was a lot more to the civil war than just slavery."
OK, let's say he is right. Let's say that the Civil War was (98%) about trade regulations, economic hardships, states rights, and only 2% about slavery.
Even at 2%, the confederacy that recognized and allowed the institution of slavery to breathe and flourish, had to be destroyed. An institution where a man, woman or child, was considered chattel. They had no say in who they married, where they lived, what they could pursue professionally or vocationally, much less civil rights matters such as voting, rights to an education, equal protection under the law. An institution where one man could treat another man in practically in manner (beat, maim, kill) he wanted because he owned him.
In the same way the author reminds us the United States was born as a result of colonies seceding from the crown, I hope that it is also not lost on the author that the principle disagreement with the Crown was over taxes and the lack of representation afforded to the colonists who were taxed. That places a much lower threshold for armed conflict than depriving a person of the opportunity to have a say in where they rested their head, whether they could learn to read and write, whether they got to keep their families in tact, and whether a person had no way to address a grievance if beaten, maimed, or family member killed.
I am even more perplexed as to why there is an insistency on including references to the confederacy as part of present Southern culture. The fact that there was a southern confederacy is history; it should not be dismissed, however, it should not be saluted either. If Southern culture is to be preserved, talk, signify, memorialize those things that define Southern culture, whatever that may be. Preserving the Confederacy inescapably preserves a government, institution and way of life that denied our fellow Americans and Southerners the most basic rights that our Consitituion endeavored to protect and preserve.
No kidding.
And where I come from (North Carolina), it was always called "the War of Northern Aggression."
well, this certainly is a damned-if-you-do,-damned-if-you-don't article.
I'm proud of my family history which is so entrenched in the south. My name-sake signed the Constitution for the state of Georgia and was a Georgia senator. His brother was one of the founders of University of GA.
I don't want to be self-destructive and I want to live in my beloved south in peace. And so if appeasing them quiets them down, so be it.
having said that, give them an inch and they'll want a mile.
Please share with us what you think defines Southern culture.
Thanks!
It is entirely possible to be proud of the valor and honor of the southern heritage while recognizing that the Confederacy was established to promote an evil ideology.
While the US was not perfect when established, with its unequal treatment of women and allowance of slavery, it did enshrine as a founding principle the essential equality of all men, and by implication women.
The Confederacy, OTOH, was based on a rejection of this principle.
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