April 9

I'd be remiss in my duties as a writer of Southern ramblings if I let April 9 come and go without so much as a mention. I've wanted to write something on this topic for some time, so here goes.

For all of you up north or elsewhere on the globe, the significance of the date is that it was the day that Robert E. Lee donned his finest uniform, polished to perfection and with great dignity and honor entered the home of Wilmer McLean to present the formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to his dingy, mud covered fellow West Pointer, Union General Ulysses S. Grant (we all know his name was Hiram, but we humor him anyway). The time is memorialized in the song best known as performed by The Band (better performed by the Black Crowes and also butchered by Joan Baez) "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down".

Yeah, I've read a little about it before. (And the version by The Crowes is my inspiration today)

There is a certain sadness in the heart of this Southern boy when I hear the very name "Appomattox". It marked the certain doom of the Confederacy and the end of an experiment. And yet, while the Tenth Amendment died in that house on that day, there was some good that came from that house. The abolition of human slavery on this continent (as it was operated then) was accelerated by several years and untold lives were saved as two formidable foes ceased trying to destroy each other.

I want to share a little about the fact that the Confederate Revolution was missing one major point that would have made all the difference. Like it's predecessor, the American Revolution, the Confederate Revolution was a fight for individual liberty, a war for freedom from tyranny, oppression and government manipulation. The problem is, they weren't fighting for all Southerners and that is the very thing that doomed the endeavor from the beginning.

The South is a diverse place, made of diverse people from diverse cultures. Each and every component is needed to get a true South. You have to have the West Paces Ferry Rd section of Atlanta, the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, The Great Smoky Mountains, the Paynes Prairie area of Florida, The Alamo, Beale Street in Memphis, The Grand Ole Opry and the 40 Watt - and so much more. You have to take it all or you lose the essence of what it is to be Southern. Tied in all of this is the food, music, lore, the very attitude of the region. And while on that evening of April 9, 1865, they may have drove ol' Dixie down, it wasn't so much a death as it was a second chance at life, the opportunity to go back and be Southern, truly Southern, with everyone and everything included.

If I'm honest, I have to say that part of me would like to see the day where another Southern Nation is born in the spirit of the Constitution but I also have to be honest and say that I would never want to see that nation allow Southerners, or any one else for that matter, to be chained in bondage while guilty of nothing but being a particular race. The immense freedom that is afforded in the Confederate form of government would only be beneficial to some if it were available to all.

I've said all of that to say that seeing the flag furled brings a tear to my eye. But it also reminds me that some people, even close friends of mine, would have been set back if that experiment had worked at that time. I could take this time to explain the facts that the war was about much, much more than slavery. I know that already, the statistics don't lie. But there are enough people arguing that point all over the South today and honestly, I'd rather see the South look to a promising future, one in which Slavery and Jim Crow are laid in their graves.

This isn't just another token "can't we all just get along" article. It is a statement of fact that Southern is a big word with a big definition and if we are to be truly Southern we have to be truly Southern - with liberty for all.

The Apprentice - Politics style

I wasn't sure what to make of what happened in the u.S. Congress yesterday. My initial feeling was a turning stomach and then something hit me. No, it wasn't a bus and it certainly wasn't the realization that I had been wrong all along.

What hit me was the realization that the Tea Act didn't last and neither did the Stamp Act. Or the Boston Port Act. Or the Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act or the Quartering Act. While many people in today's society see the constant creep of government programs and other usurpation of our liberty with the "boiling a frog" analogy in mind I tend to take a different view after last evening's epiphany.

If it were not for the Intolerable Acts, we would all be British subjects.

What happened yesterday when our government passed a sweeping piece of legislation that is vehemently opposed by most Americans was a step in a series of new Intolerable Acts that is leading to a revolution of our own age. Now, before you fly out and call the ATF or FBI on me, let me explain.

Our form of government, the finest currently in use on Earth, was specially designed by people that understood that people are pretty good when out in the wild, just trying to hammer out a life. They also realized that this trait was nullified after an extended period in a position of power - like 15, maybe 20 minutes. These same people had just completed a seven year revolution during which metal balls of various circumferences were hurled from tubes of various sizes striking people violently while long sharp objects of various sizes were jabbed into people. They probably weren't completely beyond more of the same if needed but they would have liked a better way when this became necessary once again.

So they came up with the idea of letting the people peaceably overthrow the government every two years, whether it needed it or not - which, usually, it does. All 435 members of the House of Representatives can be fired every 730 days, give or take. The executive branch gets a one-revolution reprieve coming up to possibly be fired every four years and the Senate has immunity for two overthrows - only 1/3 of them can be pulled into the boardroom per revolution.

The greatest thing in all of this is that instead of Donald Trump, these candidates have to squirm and stutter while facing their bosses - you and me. And we can be much less forgiving than The Donald. Just ask Jimmy Carter.

So now we consider the boardroom. These candidates come in and toot their horns about how great they are or have been and how raunchy and stupid the other candidates are and how sorry you will be if you don't fire them. You have an opportunity to listen to all the yakking and even a few opportunities to ask questions and dig around looking for what the reality in the issue is. And then the moment of truth. You go into the polling location and check one box, effectively turning to the other candidate with a firm glare and saying "You're fired!"

So this is where you decide what constitutes a good job in your eyes. You be The Donald.

Me? I hate this health care bill. I hate the "because I'm the President" mentality in Washington - and not just from Obama. It is hard to comprehend that when visitors knocked on the front door of the White House, Thomas Jefferson answered it. John Tyler was playing marbles with his children when he learned he had become President. President John Quincy Adams swam in the Potomac...in the nude. I want someone real in there. I realize the world has changed and that the President won't be answering the door at the White House any time soon. But let's remember which one of us is the boss and which is the employee, ok?

That is just one example. And while the current political climate is heated, is it really any more partisan than when Vice President Aaron Burr killed former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel over a slight related to an election? Is it more abrasive than when Congressman Preston Brooks walked into the Senate chamber and beat Senator Charles Sumner with a walking cane for having insulted Brooks' uncle, Andrew Butler? Partisan bickering in America predates the republic itself.

So now you have to sit in the big chair, weigh your candidates' performance in their duties or their preparedness to assume the duties anew. Then the decision is yours. Who do you fire? Who ever you keep be prepared to deal with them until the next boardroom in 2012.

School

I've been kicking this idea around for a few days, trying to decide if I really want to hit this topic. I just don't know about stepping on toes...

And y'all know me better than that!

I have heard comments from several different people in the last couple of months that all we need is to put God/prayer back in school and all the problems with education and schools in general will go away.

I get this little twitch in my neck when I hear that said and I bite my tongue and go on (reference "Swine Song" ) . This is something I have thought long and hard about and I'd like to explain exactly why I do not support prayer in school.

I'm married to a teacher. Her mom is a retired teacher. My mother taught kindergarten when I was younger and works as a substitute to this day. My younger brother works in special education. I've got about 47,000 friends from college that became teachers. I've seen education from the teachers' point of view.

I've also seen it from the student's point of view. Most of my influences in life have been either directly or indirectly from teachers. I was taught early on about rabble-rousers and miscreants by a lady named Scottie Bates - (cementing in the foundation of my heroes a bunch of revolutionaries and rebels). Another lady named Sandra Jackson taught me about all the beauty of literature and, in her own far more eloquent words, taught me that all good books have pissed someone off - and so much more. I was taught about mental toughness and teamwork by men named Danny Wiseman, Rick Walker and Allen Gossett.

I went to college and learned about critical thinking, writing and making an intelligent argument from Janet Smart, Steven Whitton and Harvey Jackson. I also did some higher studies in teamwork and mental toughness with Bill Burgess, Jim Skidmore and many others.

And by now you have to be asking what any of this rambling has to do with prayer in school. Well, nothing. That's the point. In fact, out of all the influences I mentioned, I've only seen two of them pray, and that was not in a classroom setting. In fact, several of these people left me in positions to question what I believe...which actually made it stronger. After looking at faith through the eyes of criticism and really asking why I believe what I believe, only then could I make an educated decision on faith. After all, "Mark Twain isn't a sweet old guy in an ice cream man uniform" and "Most of the people in this world didn't go to church with you".

I learned how to pray from my mom and dad as well as influences that I had at church (as well on my own while in drills with Wiseman, Walker and Gossett and working for Burgess and Skidmore). The point in listing my teachers and what they taught me is to say they are busy teaching the subject at hand. With ingenious (read mind-bogglingly stupid) policies like "No Child Left Behind" teachers have to spend the majority of their time teaching kids how to pass standardized tests and teach them actual material if time allows. This is not education, this is test-taking strategy transferal. It is unfair to teachers and students and devastating to our society. So, when exactly are they going to pray with their students?

The other reason I don't support prayer in school is because this is America - a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles, by people who believed in a creator for...well...um...for whoever wants to come here and take a stab at the American Dream. How are Christians going to feel about the Pakistani-American math teacher leading class in a prayer to Allah? Probably about the same as the Indian-American parents are going to feel about the Southern Baptist geography teacher (let's pretend they still have time to teach geography in school) leading students in a Christian prayer. See what I'm saying?

And then there are those that would argue that we shouldn't allow people of "other religions" to teach in our schools. Guys...really...welcome to the 21st century. I want my kids to learn from the best available in the given field. Period. That First Amendment thing is a multi-lane highway that we can all drive on.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that our teachers have enough crap to deal with. Maybe we need to be as adamant about "prayer for school" as we are for "prayer in school". Maybe if we take some time to make the work of our teachers a little easier or just shoot them a note to say we appreciate them...yeah, that sounds good or maybe a note to the governor or the state assembly to tell THEM how much you appreciate teachers.

If you can read this...then you'll know I hate silly cliches...but thank a teacher anyway.