Confessions of a Pro-Southerner

INTRODUCTION

I have been a proSoutherner all my life, although for most of it, I didn't know that word. Politically, I'm a moderate conservative, religiously a Christian. A great many liberals and leftists I have encountered over the years think that means I hate black people, Jews and homosexuals. And women -- even though I are one.

In 1999, I discovered the Southern nationalist and Confederate heritage preservation movements, and eagerly took part in both. I grouped both movements under the heading proSouthernism.

Between 2000 and 2004, I periodically published an e-zine, 180 Degrees True South, that took a rollicking romp through the proSouthern movement each month -- or each month that I could put out an issue. The articles were usually my own commentary -- sometimes those of a guest writer. Usually, my targets were critics of the movement; sometimes those within the movement behaving like troublemakers.

As I've noted elsewhere in this blog, life’s inevitable responsibilities took me away from active involvement in the proSouthern movement, and 180 went offline. While I was away from the movement, two things happened: I began to write proSouthern novels (the first one is published and available at Amazon.com) and the proSouthern movement lost momentum, for several reasons, not the least of which was the attacks of 9/11/01, our military adventures overseas, and the threat of radical Islamic terrorism.

But proSouthernerism did not die out completely. There are many who are convinced that secession from the corrupt, economically bankrupt and war-making U.S. government is the only way to preserve true Americanism. There are those who are committed to defending the South's Confederate heritage from increasingly vicious attack from the politically correct "court historians" out to push their view of the USA's sacred history, regardless of truth.

Inevitably, it seems, the subject of the Confederacy, secession and Southern culture are tied by some to slavery and race. In fact, there are those (usually those of a left-liberal persuasion) who wholly and solely define the South and its culture and history as racism, and nothing more. Not only that, they believe everyone should hold the same view they do -- and those who don't should be forced to by indoctrination. I have no patience for such people because, clearly, theirs is not the only way to view history.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will disclose my "confessions" -- that is, what I believe about the controversies that regularly crop up in the press and popular culture regarding the South. Those who think proSoutherners hold identical views and march in mental lockstep may be in for a surprise. Especially if I get comments from Southern nationalists or heritage preservationists who might be offended by my viewpoints.

Then there people who know better, like the folks at the Southern Poverty Law Center, but attempt to portray us as mental clones, anyway. They won't be surprised to know that proSoutherners do indeed hold different viewpoints, but I doubt my disclosure will matter much to the poverty-stricken lawyers. I'm too small potatoes for them to pay attention to.

Stay tune. My Confessions coming up soon.