NOW He Tells Me!
Mark Byron puts forth some thought-provoking hypotheses about the essential role Southerners and Southern culture have played in the advances of civilization in the last century. He posits that the elements of Southern culture such as its martial spirit, religious orthodoxy, political conservatism, and the struggle for equal rights made America a stronger place and contributed to a richer world.

Well, one hopes we have earned our keep.

I believe the thread that runs through all of these elements is a belief in absolute truth, and a willingness to fight to defend that truth. For the most part, the definition of this truth is the same one found in the Declaration of Independence--"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

For better or worse, we tend to see these words as more than an abstraction. We see them as tangible, as real as ourselves. I don't know if Southerners hold this more dear than any other people. But this definition of truth, and the reverence it is given, is what has led us all--black and white, rich and poor, man and woman--to fight and die. Duty, honor, and service, whether humping a ruck across the desert or facing down Bull Conner in the streets of Birmingham, are real things.

In a sophisticated world that values nuances and shades and spin and polite dissembling and plausible deniability, such concrete ideals are chuckled at as hopelessly infantile. Whatever. Just remember it's a lot easier to build on rock than sand.
posted by Terry at 9:36:00 AM