Chris Bowers and Digby GO AT...the Southern "I.D" and why it Matters

[KoKo]

Includes an "interesting" Merle Haggard song...which includes "My Ole Hag" (DU Females Unite) but the article is interesting for those of us Southern DU'ers who are HORRIFIED with what we see going on there...and those who think Haggard "got it right."
Here's the Map of Baptist's in the South:


Here's the post:

-----------------------------------


Cultural ID

by digby

Chris Bowers writes about one of my favorite subjects today: American tribal identity.
(Bower's full article here:)
http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/5/26/111915/503

Over the past year and a half, I have slowly developed an argument that the electorate is, in general, non-ideological, not interested in policy, and generally unmoved by the day-to-day minutia of political events that, within the blogosphere, are treated as cataclysmic events. Sure, most people hold general political beliefs, but in general national voting habits are motivated by something else--something more basic. As we look for ways to motivate voters in November, we need to remember the powerful role that identity plays in political decision-making. As progressives, we shrug off concepts such as the "battle of civilizations," but if you look closely at demographic data, maybe it is a battle of civilizations taking place after all. We may very well be living in an era of identity politics. Who knows, maybe every era of American politics is an era of identity politics.

Gretchen Wilson and Merle Haggard's song "Politically Uncorrect" perfectly captures the sense of exceptionalism and specialness of southern culture:

I'm for the low man on the totem pole
And I'm for the underdog God bless his soul
And I'm for the guys still pulling third shift
And the single mom raisin' her kids
I'm for the preachers who stay on their knees
And I'm for the sinner who finally believes
And I'm for the farmer with dirt on his hands
And the soldiers who fight for this land

Chorus:

And I'm for the Bible and I'm for the flag
And I'm for the working man, me and ol' hag
I'm just one of many
Who can't get no respect
Politically uncorrect

(Merle Haggard)
I guess my opinion is all out of style
(Gretchen Wilson)
Aw, but don't get me started cause I can get riled
And I'll make a fight for the forefathers plan
(Merle Haggard)
And the world already knows where I stand

Repeat Chorus

(Merle Haggard)
Nothing wrong with the Bible, nothing wrong with the flag
(Gretchen Wilson)
Nothing wrong with the working man me & ol' hag
We're just some of many who can't get no respect
Politically uncorrect
(Merle Haggard)

Much more of Digby's view about this here...a GREAT READ!

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

[KoKo]

1. I just Edited my post to add the Map of the Baptist America...I love

some Baptists...not a smear on your religion. One of our largest Baptist Churches had congregation at a NC Peace Demonstration....but the map is interesting to see that "red state America." Those outside the South need to know that "Baptists have SPLIT in the SOUTH" so this is just a map to show how a religion has grown. And, those Baptists should be Proud of this for their Power... (Qualifier: I'm an Episcopalian whose once Southern Coastal dominance has diminished....I guess we just didn't have the "message" that folks wanted to hear. :-(
and I can understand why)

But, that "religious values" have been taken over by one sect...

What does it mean for the rest of us? :shrug:

[KoKo]

5. Gotta give...one more kick to this. Please visit the linked site for the

MAP which has disappeared from my post but is very revealing and only a "click away" if one bothers to "click the link" I gave.

Thanks...please read...it's very interesting whether you agree or disagree...

[reality based]

2. People have to be given a reason to identify with a particular party

Ideological education has been in the hands of the movies, popular songs, churches, corporate media, and football coaches. Ideology isn't absorbed by osmosis. There hasn't been any effective articulation of liberalism by politicians since the passing of Hubert Humphrey. There has been a remarkable movement of racial attitudes in the south during my lifetime but the class consciousness that was present as a result of the Great Depression and agrarian populism has eroded seriously. It isn't tribal identity, it's unanswered, catapulted propaganda that has taken the south away from the Democratic Party.

[KoKo]

3. Yes...what you say is what I've seen having moved away and come back...

Quote from your post:

There has been a remarkable movement of racial attitudes in the south during my lifetime but the class consciousness that was present as a result of the Great Depression and agrarian populism has eroded seriously.

I assume you mean that the "class consciousness" has remained and that the "Dominant Class" that I remember many years ago still survives and THRIVES under Bush...and that most Southerners are still unaware of how Class has RULED THEM for Decades...well over two Centuries? :shrug: Is that what you meant?

[reality based]

4. There was a time when the south sent economic liberals

to Congress in substantial numbers. The New Deal and its successor "deals" relied heavily upon people like Sam Rayburn of Texas or Claude Pepper of Florida. Their liberalism was derived from white populist agrarian roots of the post civil war south and from the radicalizing experience of the Great Depression. (That did not mean that an upper class did not dominate much of southern society and as it did and does elsewhere.) As they moved to the cities, however, southerners became separated from that experience. Unions were weaker than elsewhere, higher education was less prestigious, churches were not as dedicated to the social gospel, old money was less concerned with public service, racism and the confederate tradition provided a means to split the progressive vote. Industry, the growing urban middle classes and new money often allied themselves with old money interests and racists to challenge the Democratic Party establishments. The religious right entered the scene in the latter part of the 20th Century to deliver the urban white lower middle classes and the rural areas to the Republican Party. The Democratic Party in the South has yet to develop a coherent narrative to counter that development. That doesn't mean that it can't be done. The religious right should not be conceded the Christian vote. There are plenty of Southern populist Christians and lots of sin in the Republican camp to take advantage of. An aggressive opposition like that which Governor Dean seems (or seemed) ready to promote would rally significant Democratic votes at least in some southern states. There are cultural (tribal?) issues to overcome, certainly-- most notable is the latent racism in our hearts. That probably means that for the immediate future Democrats should look elsewhere for their national Presidential majority if possible.

[gratuitous]

6. "Can't get no respect"

I don't know what country Haggard is living in, but it sure isn't the United States. If a national politician doesn't kiss the South's ass, he or she can forget about getting elected. Mind you, I'm not just saying a politician has to acknowledge the South, but actually has to embrace Southernism. If a politician shrugs and says of (for example) NASCAR, "to each his own," that politician is done for. You have to love NASCAR, and be ready to rattle off names, race results and current point standings, or you're nothing. The South will not vote for you, no Southern state will go in your column on election day.

"Can't get no respect"? What kind of bullshit is that? Would any national politician kiss off all of the Northeast or the Midwest for not liking la crosse or hockey? Would any national politician forget about the West if he didn't know squat-ah about the national forests? Not a chance. But if you don't have your lips firmly on the South's ass, forget about any electoral votes from that side of the Mason-Dixon line.

And Haggard's song is just more of the same. If you don't genuflect when it's played, Southerners will use it as an excuse to vote for the other candidate in droves.

[cally]

7. Thanks for posting this

This is a must read IMHO.