Understanding The Rules of Power

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee


In a previous post, I stated flatly that I would not be voting for Romney, but instead would be voting for the Constitution Party candidate because that is who more closely represents my beliefs. The question that guided my decision was to ask myself what is the RIGHT thing to do. As you read through the replies – including my own replies – I moved from that position to saying that I WILL be voting for Romney. This post is where I try to put into words how that decision came about.

Early in our history, or perhaps it was an illusion all along, we voted for candidates based on their stated position, their background, and other criteria. While those are still the terms in which we discuss elections, it is only a mask for what is really happening.

America has divided into two very distinct groups. Two diametrically opposed groups with ideas that are completely incompatible, with no room for true compromise. One will be in power and the other will actively oppose anything done by the group in power. The candidate names and the party names are just convenient labels. The two major parties have completely switched roles over the last 150 years, so the only constant is the struggle between the guiding principles of these two groups.

• One group believes that the individual is responsible for his own material destiny, and that government exists to protect individuals from force or fraud and to provide a basic framework for a civilized society. The same applies on the family level but no further. This group is identified by the labels: conservative, The Right, Republican, libertarian, etc.

• The other group believes that government exists to ensure fairness and equality. It is an egalitarian system that believes all people have equal talent and ability and drive, and that if results are unequal then it must be because the system is unfair and it is government’s role to make it “fair”. This group believes it is the role of government to redistribute wealth to ensure equal results. This group is identified by the labels: liberal, The Left, Democrat, socialist, etc.

Since the objective of these two groups is to win a majority of the votes, there is a self-leveling mechanism involved in the party platforms. The Left will move just far enough to the right to try to win a majority, while the Right will move just far enough to the left to try to do the same. If one side won’t move toward the center, then the other side captures those votes and gains power. While the line between the two sides is constantly shifting, it is still a line drawn down the middle resulting in a close election. Landslides are the result of one side failing to read the mood of the country and not adjusting their position accordingly.

To really understand the difference between these two groups, I look as closely at the people who support them as I do the actual candidates. The liberal side is coarse, crude, vulgar, immoral, and aggressively attacks my most basic beliefs taught by The Bible. They are sometimes referred to as the “Free Stuff Army” and the “Gimme-Dats”. As I imagine my grandchildren living in a world controlled by the liberals, it chills me to the bone. I have a duty to do what I can to keep that from happening. Protecting future generations is one of the most basic obligations of the Southern gentleman.

The two basic rules of power in America are:
1) There are only two sides, and they are defined by whether the individual or the government is responsible the individual’s success or failure.
2) We pick the side that we believe is right and vote for that side. The name of the party or the candidate is just a way to identify which side we believe in.

So, what is the RIGHT thing to do once one recognizes how this works? My conclusion is that we pick the side we believe is right and vote for that side. That leaves me with only one option – to cast my vote for the conservative side, which in this election is Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan. It is far from a perfect choice, but what in life isn’t?

Posted in Southern Gentleman, Southern Political Issues | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

New York City Manners – 1940’s

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

New York City subway – 1940’s. Photo by Stanley Kubrick.


When asked the question, “What’s wrong with this picture?” any Southern gentleman would immediately know the answer. In truth, I suspect even the men sitting down while the woman is standing also know the answer. Judging by the look on her face, the woman clearly knows the answer. Is she thinking about the legendary good manners of Southern culture?

Posted in Manners, Traditions, and Etiquette | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Election Choices – Right, Wrong, or Expedient

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

I will not be voting for Mitt Romney.

That statement has lead to several rather passionate discussions from friends and relatives who are well-informed and truly want to do the right thing, and I respect and appreciate their efforts. That, however, changes nothing.

Every four years, America goes through The Most Important Election In History. I should have noticed this earlier, but it has taken me just a few months short of sixty years to realize that it is ALWAYS “The Most Important Election In History”.

At some point, we need to come to the realization that life is not segmented into four year terms. People fail to take the long term view because they have no tolerance short term sacrifice. When you take the long view, sometimes that means that bad men get into office; it is also true that they might well do some serious and irreversible damage. Doing what is right is seldom a painless endeavor.

Let me note here that I have been a bit more than just a passive observer of the political process, although there is no need to repeat the details in this post. I am not some dreamy kid with an idealized “vision” that is out of touch with reality. I understand that politics involves compromise – but I also understand that voting does not, or at least it should not.

• Florida is shaping up to be a key battleground state for this upcoming presidential election. Obama and Romney are dead even in the polls.
• In a race this close, every vote is important.
• Obama is not only doing an extremely bad job as President, he is working directly counter to everything that has made America such a remarkable nation in history. He is working to destroy America.

With all that said, I will not be voting for Romney – even if I could somehow know that my one vote would make the difference in this election. I will be voting for a candidate who has no realistic chance to win. I will be voting for the Constitution Party candidate, Virgil Goode. Now, for the purpose of this discussion, his platform is not important; the same arguments would apply to any number of other minor party candidates.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
— John Adams

What drives your choice in an election? Our entire system of government was designed around the idea that people would vote for the person who best represented what they honestly wanted in their leadership. It was assumed that a morally upright and honorable people would make such choices.

There were no political parties when the Constitution was written. The two party system developed because it is very effective at what it does: it allows a powerful elite to select our political leadership. From the voters’ perspective it is like going to a car lot filled with every make and model imaginable, yet being told you must choose between the blue car and the red car – of the same model. And from that experience, people cast their vote and then walk away believing that they have chosen their leaders. Amazing.

Here are three short videos that may help shed some light on why I am voting for a minor-party candidate who cannot possibly win, yet one who represents what I am looking for in leadership for this country. They are also about why I will not be voting for Romney – and those are two different issues.



For more on the moral requirement that we vote for the candidate we truly believe would be the best leader (no matter which party they represent), please see the Lost Causes post.

For a more practical-oriented discussion, see “Voting Strategy 2004 – When The Lesser of Two Evils Is No Longer An Option” – a document I wrote in 2004. This covers some of the practical (i.e., expedient) reasons for voting for a minor party candidate – if that is who you believe is the best choice. You may want to take a few minutes to read it.

As a closing note, Alan Keyes (featured in the first two videos) served as an ambassador under Ronald Reagan and was a presidential candidate in 1996, 2000, and 2008. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak when I was a delegate to the Republican state convention in Florida. Ambassador Keyes is truly a remarkable man who loves his country. He was the only candidate at that convention who received a standing ovation. He was wildly popular among many of the delegates, yet the media shamefully treated him as though he were just the janitor sweeping the floors. Why? Because he was not the chosen one. He was not the man who the party leadership had decided would be the nominee. He was ignored by the media, just as Ron Paul was ignored in this election.

10/18/2012 – Edited to add: I didn’t write this post because I think I have all the answers (though at times I wrongly think I do), so I’m still making an honest effort to sort this out and do what is right. Please be sure to read the replies before leaving a reply. Constructive criticism and comments are deeply appreciated. Most folks follow the crowds like robotic drones; there are very few of us who truly agonize over the question of what is the right thing to do. Thank you.

Posted in Southern Political Issues | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

What Does Tolerance Mean?

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

The Mad Monarchist blog is a part of my regular reading. Its masthead says, “They cannot understand as yet that we are not fighting a political party but a sect of murderers of all contemporary culture” – a statement that neatly sums up a major theme here at Confederate Colonel. I have made no secret of the fact that I believe that monarchy – or some form of government based on the principles of monarchy – would be far preferable to the mob rule that allegedly governs America. That is not the purpose of this post though, so we will continue that line of discussion another time.

The Mad Monarch’s August 5 post lays out one of the best analyses I have seen yet about the current controversy over homosexual “marriage”. While it completely skips over the most important reason against it – the Biblical truth that it is a sin that God calls “an abomination” – that is also what makes it so good, since it holds up in even the most secular of arguments.

I have copied some of the key points below, but please be sure to read the full post to get the most from it.

The whole nature of this argument frankly baffles me. By long established tradition “marriage” is defined as the permanent union of one man and one woman. Now, a vocal minority wants to change that definition and when anyone complains about that or voices opposition the retort is that you are being discriminatory by not treating them just like everyone else. What? I’m confused. Of course they are being treated different than everyone else because their behavior is different from that of everyone else. If they were behaving just like everyone else there would be no reason to change the definition in the first place.

In any event, some want their relationships to have the same legal status as that of other legally married people. Why? You don’t need the government to make a commitment to someone and you don’t need the government to give you a license to behave as you please in your own home. The only reason I can see is that these people want government recognition, sanction and effectively the “blessing” of the government of this country which rules on behalf of “we the people”. And that is where I am forced to get involved -forced- in something I have no desire to. By my vote and by my words they want me, through my government and personally if they ever met me, to say what they’re doing is okay. That is what it comes down to. They don’t just want me to let them do it, they want me, through our representative government, to officially and publicly approve of them doing it. I cannot. I will not.

Posted in Culture and Heritage | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The Cultural Destruction of England

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

The forces that are working to destroy Southern culture are certainly not unique in the world. Similar attacks on nations and cultures have been happening in many places that were once solidly Western European culture.

The BBC broadcast a documentary titled Rivers of Blood. It begins with one man – Enoch Powell – using his position of leadership to warn his countrymen of the grave threat they face as the gathering storm begins to assail English culture and turn England into a land completely alien to those who inherited one of the greatest nations on earth. He warned that England was losing her sense of national identity, the shared values and traditions and history, the common thread that unites the English as a people. When Mr. Powell made his “Rivers of Blood” speech forty years ago, the term “political correctness” had not yet been coined, but that is what was at work

The force that destroyed England was a political establishment that used uncontrolled immigration as a weapon. Most nations can absorb small numbers of immigrants from other cultures without damaging the existing culture. In small numbers, immigrants are assimilated into the culture as long as they are not concentrated in certain areas. In large numbers, immigrants become an invading and occupying army. From there, they spread their influence beyond their enclaves of occupation.

The forces that are destroying our once-great land are not new and our experience is not unique. What is happening now in places like Dearborn, Michigan may soon be happening across the country – including our beloved South. The question is – will we recognize the threat and take action to stop it?

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Posted in Culture and Heritage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Romney on The Confederate Flag

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

While I would not advocate making the display of Confederate symbols into a national campaign issue, it is a very clear indication of how one views the people of The South, Southern heritage, and Southern culture. While Barack Hussein Obama is aggressively hostile to Southerners, the Massachusetts-native nominee of the party of Lincoln has made his beliefs known also.

I have no winning alternative to offer, but well over a decade ago, I stopped voting for the “lesser of two evils” and cast my vote for Constitution Party candidates. I would ask that you take another look at the post titled, “Lost Causes” when considering what you will do on election day. Is your one vote really going to make a difference in the outcome? No, of course not. Then why would you be willing to give your vote to anyone other than a candidate who you truly believe is the man best qualified to lead the nation in the way you believe it should be lead?

A Southern gentleman does what is RIGHT – not what is expedient. Our ancestors fought for the Lost Cause because it was the right thing to do. We have a noble heritage to uphold. Voting should be a moral decision not a political decision.

Edited to add:
For another perspective on why voting your conscience makes practical, real-world sense, read “Voting Strategy 2004 – When the Lesser of Two Evils is No Longer An Option“. Although this was written for the 2004 election, the principles still apply. In the interest of disclosure, I played a major role in writing this document.

Posted in Confederate Flag, Southern Political Issues | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Twenty Points of Baltasar Gracián

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

Following on the heels of Survival Mom’s “Eight Vital Skills” is a post from the Art of Manliness blog titled “Cunning as a Serpent, Innocent as a Dove: The Art of Worldly Wisdom“. Baltasar Gracián was a 17th century Jesuit priest who wrote sort of a survival guide for life in the Spanish court. The book is titled The Art of Worldly Wisdom. Brett and Kate McKay have taken 20 of their favorites from the 300 maxims and commentary in the book and included them in an excellent post. The Art of Manliness blog is another on my daily reading list. I am pretty sure that I have read every single post on that blog, and it has been on the Confederate Colonel links list since the very beginning.

Although it has been 17 years since I left the “corporate world” to start my own business, I can attest to how well these apply to the real world today – nearly 350 years after it was written. For example, knowing how to balance #10 and #17 can have a big impact on one’s career reputation.

Keep in mind that, like the writing of Machiavelli, this should not be considered advice, but wisdom. Understanding the actions of others – whether they be honorable or dishonorable – is a vitally important life skill. This type of information (this book and The Prince by Machiavelli) is not like the maxims of Robert E. Lee, in which each and every point describes the actions of a Southern gentleman. This is more of a catalog of how a wide range of people think and act. While the majority of what we find in this type of book is good, solid, practical advice, some of it would be abhorrent to any Southern gentleman. Whether it is advice to be followed or observations to be noted, they must be understood to successfully navigate through the often-rocky waters of life.

  1. In your affairs, create suspense.
  2. The height of perfection. No one is born complete; perfect yourself and your activities day by day
  3. Don’t arouse excessive expectations from the start.
  4. Never exaggerate.
  5. Never lose your self-respect.
  6. Never lose your composure.
  7. Don’t be uneven, or inconsistent in your actions: either through inclination or choice.
  8. Choose a heroic model, more to emulate than to imitate.
  9. Understand yourself: your temperament, intellect, opinions, emotions. You can’t be master of yourself if you don’t first understand yourself.
  10. Don’t hang around to be a setting sun. The sensible person’s maxim: abandon things before they abandon you.
  11. Get used to the bad temperaments of those you deal with, like getting used to ugly faces.
  12. Never complain. Complaining always brings discredit.
  13. Avoid familiarity when dealing with people. It should be neither used nor permitted.
  14. Know how to appreciate. There’s no one who can’t be better than someone at something, and none who excel who can’t be excelled.
  15. Undertake what’s easy as if it were hard, and what’s hard as if it were easy.
  16. Take a joke, but don’t make someone the butt of one. The first is a form of politeness; the second, of audacity.
  17. Carry things through.
  18. Don’t be carried away by the last person you meet.
  19. Go with the flow, but not beyond decency.
  20. Act as though always on view. The insightful man is the one who sees that others see or will see him.

I have just listed the main points here, so be sure to read the full post on Art of Manliness for a more detailed explanation of these points.

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Eight Vital Skills

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

The Southern gentleman is the primary focus of Confederate Colonel. A major part of that is an emphasis on the importance of leadership (see the Lessons in Leadership series). With that said, we need to understand that we are not just talking about the present. We are also talking about the future. It is the responsibility and duty of each generation to teach the next generation. It is the responsibility of the Southern gentleman and Southern lady to teach their children and grandchildren the skills necessary for leadership, as well as the culture of The Old South.

The Survival Mom blog is part of my daily reading. She recently had a post titled, “8 Vital skills to teach your children that will trump an Ivy League education” . This is a must-read post for anyone interested in providing future generations with the skills they will need to succeed in life. Here are the main points:

  1. Communication skills
  2. Creating a vision
  3. Setting and achieving goals
  4. Courage in the face of opposition
  5. Confidence
  6. Ability to encourage others
  7. Honesty
  8. Decision making

This was, of course, never intended to be an all-inclusive list – it is a way to shift our thought process away from what is just a current trend and toward those timeless skills that will always be in demand. I have just outlined the main points here. Survival Mom includes concrete examples of how to instill these skills in your children and grandchildren. Be sure to read the full post. Once you start thinking this way, I am sure you will come up with your own skills to add to this list. When you do, please post a reply and share your ideas along with ways to teach those skills.

Posted in Leadership | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Home Schooling By The Numbers

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

It is no secret that I am a big supporter of home schooling. Second only to removing television from your home, it is an effective way to regain control of the way the next generation is raised. In addition, the quality of education received from conscientious home schooling parents will far exceed what most public school students will receive. There are, of course, exceptions, but the facts in favor of home schooling far exceed any reasons not to home school. Our sons were home schooled, and our grandchildren will be home schooled also.

Homeschool Domination
Created by: College At Home

Posted in Culture and Heritage | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Words Have Meaning

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Stephen Clay McGehee

gen-tle-man – noun a : a man of noble or gentle birth b : a man belonging to the landed gentry c(1) : a man who combines gentle birth or rank with chivalrous qualities (2) : a man whose conduct conforms to a high standard of propriety or correct behavior …

This morning I watched yet another news clip of a police spokesman using the word “gentleman” to describe a street thug. In this case, a group of five Blacks walked into a restaurant, got angry because it was taking too long to cook their food. They shot and killed the cook and walked away. The cook had a wife and five children with the youngest being 2 years old. Our society has rotted to the point that this kind of brutal, savage disregard for life is no longer uncommon.

Another quote from the police: “It was a random dispute that went tragically wrong.” No, Mr. Detective, it was a brutal murder by uncivilized thugs who do not have even the most basic level of decency required to live among civilized human beings. There is more to claiming the title of “human being” than having opposable thumbs. Words have meaning, Mr. Detective, and if you can’t grasp that concept, you should not be a public spokesman.

One contributing factor to this is the fact that our society continues to treat uncivilized thugs as though they were civilized men. We have all heard police, judges, politicians, and news reporters use the word “gentleman” to refer to the worst dregs of society. Can anything be farther from the true meaning of the word? Do a web search on “gentleman” and you’ll find “gentleman’s club”. They are not where gentlemen congregate – they are dark, sleazy, degrading strip clubs. To add even further insult, their advertisements will refer to those who work there as “ladies” – yet another complete perversion of the meaning.

Words have meaning, and when a society takes a word and reverses its meaning, that degrades the entire culture. “Gentleman” is not the only example. “Bad” has become slang for something good. “Gay” went from meaning “happily excited, merry, keenly alive and exuberant, having or inducing high spirits …” to meaning one who practices the most vile and perverted sexual deviancy. We have come to the place where George Orwell’s prediction about the way society thinks has become reality: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”

We cannot stop the process of cultural Marxism as it destroys our society by changing the way people think. We can, however, control it in our families, among our friends and associates, in our churches, and other places where we have a leadership role. Men think in words, and words have meaning. Insist that words be used correctly.

Posted in Culture and Heritage, Southern Gentleman | Tagged , | 3 Comments