Replies

For that matter, why isn't it "Southern by Birth, and American by Grace of God? Indeed, the South could have ended up something really wretched if some Southern politicians in the last two centuries had gotten their way. Being part of a larger country has helped to prevent the various regions from falling giving into their less worthy characteristics and tendencies.

Methinks thou dost protest too much. I've said nothing to denigrate other regions of this great nation, but having others complaining because I show a special affinity to the region and culture that I was reared and currently live in I find humorous. Do I detect envy?

I have a special affinity to the state and regional culture that I live in and personally think that there's not a better place on Earth to live, but I suspect most other folks feel the same way about their particular state/region/culture/heritage. If they don't, then sad for them.

This bears repeating again. I can crow about the South if I want to (free speech and all that..)- you can too about where you live, if you feel so inclined. It won't offend me. To each his own.

Maybe they take a more realistic or balanced view of things. If you live in a Northern state you'll have plenty of things to complain about -- weather, potholes, traffic, politicians, taxes -- but you'll also have things you can take pride in.

I do not consider my viewpoint unrealistic or unbalanced. Sounds like you think we should all be exactly the same. I prefer a unified but somewhat non-homogenized culture. We are all Americans, yes - we are all exactly the same, no.

It looks as though some Southerners have to be the best in everything.

I never said any such thing. Those are your words, not mine.

Not just now, but also through all time. And anything that gets in the way of that is denied. They play on the whole "red state" "blue state" thing to dismiss some really positive things about the Northeast or the West Coast.

Boy! If you think Southerners have a lock on this type of behavior, you need to read more postings in FR more often.

There's nothing wrong with loving one's state or region as it is with all its good and bad qualities, but pretending it's perfect gets people into trouble.

Show me where I ever said the South was perfect and I'll gladly apologize. My only statement has been to express my personal affinity for the region of this great nation that I live in, warts and all. If others don't feel similarly, well sad for them.

Not everything I said was directed at you personally. That's why I said "Some Southerners" rather than "you." When I said that I was trying to convey my experience of how "some Southerners" behaved, not to reproach you personally.

And indeed, for some people the South is so wonderful now, that it had to be wonderful in 1860 or 1960, and some real problems and difficulties are just brushed under the rug. And for some people there's a real, "we're great, you're terrible" edge to regional pride, as well as much complacency.

I don't say that about you personally. If you just love your home state -- fine. But I've seen some of the downside of regional or state pride often enough. The "Southern by grace of God" line may be more or less a good-natured joke, but it's one that wears out after a while.

I'd have to say that we're more fortunate to be Americans than Northerners or Southerners, Easterners or Westerners. Maybe the South will bail out America. Maybe it has in the past. But more often the US has benefited the South and other regions.

That's not to say that we should all be alike or that the regions don't contribute. Rather, given that we're different, those differences can sometimes balance out. This or that part of the country may go crazy, but the country as a whole usually manages to keep its head. Some people -- and again this isn't a personal remark -- are so in love with their own state or region that they'd rather go crazy with it, than take a more objective view of things.

If you're from New York or Boston or Philadelphia or San Francisco and post here, chances are you probably dislike some things about your part of the country -- certainly politics for one big thing -- but you don't hate where you live. There's a tendency for some Southerners to view everything about their region as hunky-dory and to run down just about everything about the North or Northeast or West Coast. You'd have to go to a Democrat or liberal site to find such single-mindedness among New Yorkers or Vermonters or Californians. But things that those states do have to pride themselves on are routinely dismissed here because they're "blue states."

Well, everybody has free speech. And each of us will do as we see fit. But the way these discussions tend to move from "they hate us and think they're better than us" to "we're better than they are" does grate on some people who might be sympathetic under other circumstances. I don't say it's something that you do, but it's something I do see often enough.