The Civil War 2012

I've lived in the South my entire life so I have plenty of skin in the game. Some misunderstand my criticism of the South as hatred and some get defensive and want to rally around the South at all cost. The only way to make the South a better place for us all is to be honest and open about the good and the bad. Don't get me wrong, I know that there should be free speech and people have the right to have and to hold any feelings that they want however, just because someone has an opinion or feeling, it doesn't mean it's a good thing or justified or proper. We still have an alarming amount of people living under the mantra of "the south's gonna rise again". This basically amounts to a belief that the South was right in the civil war and that we were somehow wronged by the Northern aggression during the civil war. The pressure to not be openly racist and hateful has been a good thing and much of the sentiment as well as the rebel flag society has gone underground. There are a few brave souls who get rebel flag tattoos or run around with a huge flag attached to their truck but the more refined rebellion has now embraced the don't tread on me flag. It often feels that the civil war is being fought by the die hard South but just not with guns on a battlefield. The politics of the South has been co opted by an opportunistic republican party that considers Southern conservative voters to be their property and pet. The powers that be pour the hate, the racism, the fear and the religious guilt into the South through a funnel. The funnel runs through some churches, through conservative talk radio, through fox news and through peer pressure. This influence is unfiltered and hits the desired target at full force. The feeling of we'd rather be morally right that protect our best interest or provide a better future for our children is unbelievable and dangerous. You can't be in charge of your life as long as you're a pawn on a chess board. One day, I can only hope that we will wake up and realize that different doesn't equal evil and see that letting go of the past grudges does not make us weak. I crave an honest and open debate about real issues. The government is not out to get you and is not to be feared. We are the government even if there are republican elements that aren't capable of ever accepting a Democratic leader as fairly elected or legitimate. The facts are, the South isn't going to break away from the United States again, it's not the job of the South to "save" the rest of the heathens up north or out west and until we decide to think for ourselves and not be used, the South will never be all that it can be. Never find pride in ignorance and instead of trying to find an enemy to attack or rally against, can we find a way forward?

TSD