28 April 2008...11:40 am
NEWSWEEK’s Southern Accents, or, Told ‘Ja So!
And call me Cassandra ….
Long time readers are familiar with my concern over the whole Neoconfederate/Old South direction of national (and especially GOP) politics.
Bob Barr and the Council of Concerned Citizens
(or is that the Kouncil of Koncerned Kitizens?)
webposted 2-19-99Trent Lott and the Council of Concerned Citizens
(or is that the Kouncil of Koncerned Kitizens?)
webposted 2-19-99DUBYA ELECTED - TRANSITION TEAM NAMES MORE JOHNNY REBS
webposted 01-01-01
Er, and more recently:
Is Our Children Learning?
investigative report by Hart Williams
AVA OREGON! Vol 1 No. 11
January 13, 2005Write Idea, Wrong Century « his vorpal sword
But the notion that the American Civil War was fought to end slavery is the ….. Where did I say that slavery had nothing to do with the Civil War, …
31 March, 2008Ku Klutz Klan « his vorpal sword
(And, of course the Civil War WASN’T about extending slavery to the territories, …. Oh, and you might want to reread “Slavery — It’s Not Over.” Courage. …
18 January, 2008Racism Update « his vorpal sword
… to Michael Medved’s bizarre “defense” of slavery, to Bill O’Reilly’s equally bizarre racist-by-negation riff seemingly surprised that Blacks at a famous …
4 October 2007Slavery - It’s Not Over « his vorpal sword
[Featured on Crooks and Liars.]
Southern Heritage. We were far too nice. We thought that forgiveness would “bind up the nation’s wounds.” But here we are, seven score and three years later, and we STILL have to endure this crap, purportedly politely ….
30 December 2007
Well, NEWSWEEK has finally discovered this phenomenon, a decade late, but discovered it, nonetheless.
And, only on the Web. They wouldn’t DARE voice these sentiments in print. It is, fundamentally, toothless, and the writer makes little attempt to seriously gum the Neoconfederates to death. But, for what it’s worth, I am told to note when the MSM finally gets around to some point I made in days of yore.
Sort of like my use of the term “framing”:
Don’t Think of an Elephant
Know Your Values and Frame the Debate
Foreword by Howard Dean; Introduction by Don Hazen
by George Lakoff
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Pub. Date: September 2004
ISBN-13: 9781931498715
As opposed to this from the Santa Fe Sun:
The Santa Fe Sun
The Rush-ians Are Coming!
The Rush-ians Are Coming!
by Hart Williams
January 1995 issue (p. 16)… Do you see how important it is that we frame our speech precisely? If we say it one way, there is no excuse. But, stated the way it now stands, it almost seems (if your views run that way) that Paul Hill might have a case for shooting two unarmed men in the backs with a shotgun. (How noble!)
We of America hated the Russians for fifty years. Then, the Russians were gone: no more Communists left to hate. We have no one left to hate now, none to vent our self-righteousness, our “freedom” and “American Dream” on but ourselves.
But hatred is a very difficult habit to break, and hating (for over fifty years) becomes a kind of need. And, lately, one hears ‘liberal’ spoken in the same tones, with the same hateful inflections once reserved for pinkos, commies and subversives (whoever they finally turned out to be).
A radical form of moderation is needed. Extremism in defense of moderation might seem contradictory, but it may also be an absolute necessity…. [emphasis added]
Which is nearly ten years earlier than Lakoff’s:
“George Lakoff will be one of the most influential political thinkers of the progressive movement when the history of this century is written. It is up to those who want change to make good use of his unique insights.” [emphasis added]
-Howard Dean
Yeah. “Unique.” Sure.
So, NEWSWEEK has noticed the slimy triumph of old Southern concepts of repression, greed, “states rights,” unrestrained and deregulated capitalism (*see “greed”), etcetera. Worth a read. But notice how fundamentally castrated this observation is. The fear of repercussion from those cited strongly susggests the veracity of their alleged ascension. (Or, perhaps the writer is, like your Humble Correspondent, clearly delusional). Here, I’ll get you started:
How the South Won (This) Civil War
Southernism is taking over our national dialogue. Maybe it’s time for the North to secede from the Union.
Michael Hirsh
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 5:10 PM ET Apr 25, 2008In the summer of 1863, Robert E. Lee led an ill-advised incursion into Pennsylvania. His army was defeated at Gettysburg, and thence afterward Lee beat a fighting retreat until the South lost the Civil War. One hundred and forty-five years later, the South–or what has become the South-Southwest–has won another kind of Civil War. It has transformed the sensibility of the country. It is setting the agenda for our political, social and religious mores–in Pennsylvania and everywhere else.
This thought, which has been recurring to me regularly over the years as I’ve watched the Southernization of our national politics at the hands of the GOP and its evangelical base, surfaced again when I read a New York Times story today. The article was about an “American Idol” contestant–apparently quite talented–who was eliminated after she sang the title song from “Jesus Christ Superstar.” When it debuted 38 years ago, the rock opera was considered controversial for its rather arch portrayal of a doubt-wracked, very human Jesus, but the music was so good and the lyrics so clever that it quickly became a huge hit. In the delicate balance of forces that have always defined American tastes–nativism and yahooism versus eagerness for the new and openness to innovation–art, or at least high craft, it seemed, had triumphed. But our national common denominator of taste is so altered today … [MORE]
Cassandra out.
Courage.
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