I noticed something interesting when I looked at the map of how the states went during this past election. It looked like a map straight out of the Civil War - Union States in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, Confederate States in the South.
I see the new South as the new Confederacy. While I know a lot of people who live in the South and while I am not generalizing to the many progressive and left-leaning Southern citizens, I do have a bone to pick with the Southerners who voted for Bush. Clearly, the Republican stronghold is in the new South/Confederacy and this is the focus of my ranting.
There are some interesting similarities between the old Confederacy and the new Confederacy.
1) The old wanted the law to recognize the lack of rights of a group of people (Slaves) not based upon merit or crime, but based purely on race. The new want the same thing (Gay/Lesbians) again based only upon their sexual preference, not based upon their merit or crime. While a drastically more severe form of suppression, the old South's adoption of Slavery and their consequential need for it was based purely out of greed - but they falsely considered themselves moral crusaders protecting the natural order of God. Not surprisingly, the new South wants the same thing - to suppress a group of people by denying them a basic right - purely for selfish fear, and then stand behind their difficult excuse that they are espousing "the ideal." How scary indeed.
2) WEP (White Evangelical Protestants) make up the most forceful group of both the old and new Confederacy. Not too much explanation needed here.
3) The new Confederacy still is economically challenged in comparison to the new Union. The driving force of our nation's development and economy still lies in the Northeast, Northern Midwest and West Coast. Again, as it was in 1860, the South harbors a slight distrust of the North because of the economic and intellectual success of the North. The expression of this distrust is in the rationalization of their clear support of Southern presidents. Instead of saying, "hey we suck economically and we need to figure this out," the South says, "we're morally superior." As such, they claim moral strength as something of their own - as if those in the North are morally bankrupt. It makes them feel better - but its just not true.
4) The old Confederacy feared modernism in a paranoid way. So does the new. How they can see stem-cell research as some form of fetus-killing is clearly indicative of their fear and ignorance of modern technology and science. The old feared the modern industry of the North with its attendant invention and innovation. Because of this, they clung to the "old way" of making money - by enslaving other people, instead of pushing forward a modernization of their own industries - making the use of slaves unnecessary. Now, they fear the new bioscience which manipulates genes and stem cells to be used in the cure of currently incurable diseases. And like 1860, they believe such modernism will lead to rampant disregard for human life or fetal life - again, assuming that the new North is morally bankrupt.
There are plenty more. These are only a few of the similarities I've noticed. Now, I'm not saying that the South is all this way - only a small group of the Christian Right registered voters are. Its that the most vocal fo the Christian Right reside in the South it seems, and they drive the Republican Party's policy. I'm also not saying that some Northern states like Ohio are off the hook - they also fall into the new Confederacy. Finally, I do recognize that the South is a much better place (and this is an understatment) than in 1860.
What I am trying to say is that we are again at an impasse - where one portion of the country is clearly left of center and the other portion is clearly right of center, far right. The right has beaten the left in the debate over which way of life is better. They have made a stronger moral and cultural argument for their philosphy of living and governing.
As a group, we need to learn from what happened in the 1860s. The Republican party (how ironic) at the time made a clear and emphatic moral and cultural argument for their platform and agenda. Those now on the left of center need to do the same. The new Union has to balance their economic and healthcare benefits with that which appeals to our less pragmatic population - moral, cultural and philosophical arguments for a better way of life, individually and as a community.
I'll talk more about that later. If it seems a little sensational to make the link between the Old Confederacy and the Republican South - well, so it is. I'm just trying to make a point.
