The Internet Is A New Avenue To Recreate The South, Dixie!
The net could help re-establish regional identities in the virtual world, don't pass restrictive federal laws against the opportunities of the internet. by Mark Vogl
(conservative)
Friday, January 20, 2012
A true patriot of the South, a man who I believe is a friend despite his disappointment in me, has repeatedly expressed his frustration and sadness at the disappearance of the Dixie that was the South; “I hate that the symbols and songs of the South are being eliminated, and replaced by things that have nothing to do with Texas, or this region of the nation.”
This leader in the Sons of Confederate Veterans is just one of millions and millions of Americans who see their separate regional identities disappearing, to be replaced by some type of vanilla milk toast, politically correct, homogenized culture that promotes meaningless diversity. Cowboys are bad, they killed Indians. Indians are bad, they are native Americans. The Catholic Church is bad because it helped the Europeans discover and civilize the rest of the world. Southerners are bad because they had slaves, sold to them by the Yankees and the Europeans. John Wayne is bad because he loved America! Ronald Reagan was bad because…well, they haven’t come up with that yet!
One of the great strengths of early America was the sovereignty, independence, and character of each of the thirteen colonies. These independent countries created the united States. Each colony was different and separate from the rest. Each colony was in effect, its own nation-state, when it separated from England. In fact, when King George signed the treaty ending the American Revolution he addressed each of the thirteen colonies separately, as independent nations! Few hear that in the classrooms in today’s American schools, but one need only look at the treaty!
My friend’s frustration and disappointment resonates with Americans all over the nation about their part of the country. Have you ever seen the movie “Fargo”? if you have, you may have been as surprised as I at their dialect, (their accent), and their lifestyles. As in the South, the weather of central northern states dictates aspects of the lives of people who live in the north.
For the South, she is unique among all the regions of the nation. The South has its own symbol, recognized around the world, the Confederate naval ensign. This flag, the Crimson Cross, represents a short lived Confederate States of America, (1860 – 1865). This nation, composed of thirteen southern states ( Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky), and two territories, the Indian Nations (Oklahoma), and Arizona (the southern halves of present day Arizona and New Mexico), had its own Constitution, an improved variation of the United States Constitution. The South’s nationality was recognized around the world, displayed on ships in ports from Shanghai to Cherbourg, France.
Presently, the United States is in its second year of the Civil War Sesquicentennial (150th) remembrance of the war. For places like Gettysburg, whose tourism nets that small town over 300 million dollars in annual revenue, and puts more than 6,000 people to work, the Sesquicentennial is an economic bonanza. Unfortunately, Southern businessmen and investors have not been as astute as the Yankees in turning history into economy prosperity. Many states in the South hide their battlefields, and have done little to preserve them and develop as tourist destinations. Not even Ted Turner, who played a very minor role in a Confederate uniform in the movie “Gettysburg” ever gave serious consideration to investing and developing a Southern educational – tourist friendly Southern based cultural chain of restaurants, or retail outlets throughout the South. These outlets could take advantage of the history of the defiant South, a place where all, black and white, considered themselves Southern first.
Not all of us have the resources or business acumen and ingenuity of Ted Turner. Not many of us could actually consider developing a Southern, or Dixie oriented commercial enterprise that would span the South from Virginia to Florida to Arizona. The costs would large, and there would be some risk. Only a combined, multi media campaign created to tell the true story of the South could bring the old South back into fashion. Those running the world want nationalism dead in America. A rebirth of the South could relit the fires of Americanism, and well, that’s not in vogue in London or Beijing.
That brings us to the internet. Here, with very little expense, imaginative, creative, well read individuals can construct a Southern infrastructure. Here on the internet the history of the old South can be brought to life and just as importantly, the concepts of liberty, self-reliance, a pioneer spirit, Christianity and southern nationalism in the modern sense can be explored and discussed.
Technologies developed during the Cold War (1945 – 1991) which have been transformed into commercial goliaths in the early twenty first century offer a new opportunity to re-instate Southern values and traditions in the modern world. It is on the internet that the New Confederacy can emerge.
This is not a direct answer to my friend’s disappointment. But, it does provide a means for likeminded people to congregate, and work on building an electronic colony complete with Southern culture, and integrated into what remains of the old South. And who knows, should the activity on the internet indicate that tens of millions of Americans (some 50 to 80 million are descendants of Confederate gray) want to embrace the values of the old South, now that slavery is dead, and racism a despised social fault of all regions of America, may be a future Ted Turner will see the investment opportunities of creating a new Southern styled Disney like complex complete with a Christian value set, and an invigorated Dixie spirit.
But in the Culture War which exists every day in America, people opposed to the South are behind the first step in legislation to kill free speech on the internet. The STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT could kill this new avenue to reclaim the original American diversity of the regions of the nation. Don't let Congress rob the opportunities for freedom of speech and cultural diversity by imposing their will on the internet! Call your Congressman and tell him to vote no on this act. And after you do, settle down for some supper.
Hey pass the black eyed peas will ya? How bout some of that chicken fried steak? And oh I must have some of those corn fritters! Can we still get the Grand Ole Opry?
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