Sometimes, the South can be a lonely and desolate place for a Liberal or Progressive minded person. Every day brings battles and persecution just for daring to speak your mind or voicing support for the Democratic Party. To the untrained eye, the South would appear to be unified behind hunting, fishing, country music, concealed carry permits and anti governments sentiments. Just when the desert seems to be harsh and without any hope, an oasis can often be found. The Southern Donkey found an oasis in the Southern Desert tonight. I attended a high school musical. The kids put in a ton of work and it paid off greatly. Against all odds for success, the drama department decided to put on a musical called "Singing in the Rain". I'm sure that many of the kids that participated in the play were subjected to ridicule for learning to tap dance and for singing their hearts out. In full disclosure, my daughter had some minor parts in the musical but it wasn't so much pride in my daughter as it was just being moved by a group of people who put the arts on display for the world to see. Being able to get lost in an innocent story line was refreshing and although there were some concealed carry people in the audience, even their hard hearts became warmed by the spirit of the the performance. Art, sports, comedy and music have the ability to unite us in common interest and they allow us to leave the bickering world of hateful politics behind. I have to feel that the next generation will have a chance to advance the South beyond it's old stereotypes. Imagine a South free of racism, conservative extremism and one that isn't so stuck in tradition and the rebel way that we risk our future in order to feel that we are right and the rest of the country is wrong. Southern Pride can be found in our sweet tea, hospitality, cooking and the beautiful scenery but only by striking the resentment from our past can we begin to find solid ground to stand on in the future.
TSD
No comments:
Post a Comment