In the middle of his recent New Yorker piece about the approaching death of the Southern way of life, George Packer pretends to possess a soft spot for the South by identifying it as once having been “the real America.” He even evokes a bit of sympathy for our sense of being downtrodden. But his disdain and derision is thinly veiled and is revealed in passages like:
“At the same time, the Southern way of life began to be embraced around the country until, in a sense, it came to stand for the “real America”: country music and Lynyrd Skynyrd, barbecue and NASCAR, political conservatism, God and guns, the code of masculinity, militarization, hostility to unions, and suspicion of government authority, especially in Washington, D.C. (despite its largesse).“
Yeah, dude, God, guns and NASCAR! Yee Haw! That’s the South, 100% perfect picture. You ever been there, or you just read about it?
He closes with his central point: “It would be better for America as well as for the South if Southerners rediscovered their hidden past and took up the painful task of refashioning an identity that no longer inspires their countrymen.” In other words – “Give it up boys, we won . . . again! Time for you to do it our way, get it?”
Actually, this movement, this unrest, this extreme discomfort with the status quo that has them worried, that has them in suppression mode, is not actually a geographic phenomenon. Pinning it on ‘Southerners’ just makes them feel better since, after all, the South was pro-slavery, LOST the War of Northern Aggression, and most folks there talks kinda funny anyways, so . . . you know, get in line. As it turns out, a very large portion of the population across the country is fed up with being told what to think, which tax collector will take our money, what food to eat, libations to drink, car to drive, fuel to burn, proper settings for thermostats, guns to own, and how to live in general. Most of the ruling class, the political pundits and the majority of the people who run your government in DC, have the same driving force – the firm belief that they know better than you what ‘free, good living’ means, so they expect you to read their rules and comply, or else they’ll marginalize and shame you into compliance.
They’re right about at least one thing. I (and you?) am pissed off; I do feel downtrodden. But their solution is to say “STFU about it and salute your commander-in-chief, g’damnit.” I for one think maybe they ought to start considering a different approach. The Constitution is a contract among the People and the government founded thereby. I further stipulate that the federal government is in breach of that contract, therefore, by its very terms and as a matter of natural right (See Declaration of Independence) we are no longer bound by it or subject to laws that do not comply therewith. If they push much more, if they infringe much further into my world and upon my rights to life and liberty, I will consider it a duty to my nature and my loved ones to instigate actions to terminate the contract by whatever means necessary.
“Treasonous!” some will say. To whom I reply: Except under an illegitimate law like the Alien and Sedition Act or any other such tyrannical rule, my expression of a my moral right to freedom from oppression is noble, not treasonous. If I’m the last man who believes this, I yearn for death. If not, I hope that like minded men and women will stand with me and refuse to comply with their unjust and thus immoral intrusions into our daily lives.
Have you had enough yet?
America's CURE - by Jeff Neal 