Confederate Colonel

In 1852, John Henry Newman gave a series of lectures in Ireland titled “The Idea of a University”. In one of these lectures, he gave this definition of a Gentleman. It is a good one.

Hence it is that it is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never inflicts pain. This description is both refined and, as far as it goes, accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him; and he concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself.

His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature; like an easy chair or a good fire, which do their part in dispelling cold and fatigue, though nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without them.

The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a jolt in the minds of those with whom he is cast — all clashing of opinion, or collision of feeling, all restraint, or suspicion, or gloom, or resentment; his great concern being to make every one at his ease and at home.

He has his eyes on all his company; he is tender towards the bashful, gentle towards the distant, and merciful towards the absurd; he can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against unseasonable allusions, or topics which may irritate; he is seldom prominent in conversation, and never wearisome. He makes light of favors while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring.

He never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by a mere retort; he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in imputing motives to those who interfere with him, and interprets everything for the best.

He is never mean or little in his disputes, never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp saying for arguments, or insinuates evil which he dare not say out. From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, that we should ever conduct ourselves towards our enemy as if he were one day to be our friend.

He has too much good sense to be affronted at insults, he is too well employed to remember injuries, and too indolent to bear malice. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned, on philosophical principles; he submits to pain, because it is inevitable, to bereavement, because it is irreparable, and to death, because it is his destiny.

If he engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined intellect preserves him from the blundering discourtesy of better, perhaps, but less educated minds; who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack instead of cutting clean, who mistake the point in argument, waste their strength on trifles, misconceive their adversary, and leave the question more involved than they find it. He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but he is too clear-headed to be unjust; he is as simple as he is forcible, and as brief as he is decisive. Nowhere shall we find greater candor, consideration, indulgence: he throws himself into the minds of his opponents, he accounts for their mistakes. He knows the weakness of human reason as well as its strength, its province and its limits.

Along with Robert E. Lee’s classic Definition of a Gentleman, this is well worth the time to read, study, and contemplate.

Following our previous post on The Qualities of a Gentleman, here is The Qualities of a Lady from The Victorian Station web site:

A lady should be quiet in her manners, natural and unassuming in her language, careful to wound no one’s feelings, but giving generously and freely from the treasures of her pure mind to her friends. Scorning no one openly, she should feel gentle pity for the unfortunate, the inferior and the ignorant, at the same time carrying herself with an innocence and single heartedness which disarms ill nature, and wins respect and love from all.

The Victorian Station web site is well worth a visit for more great reading.

This listing of The Qualities of a Gentleman are from The Victorian Station web site.

He acts kindly from the impulse of his kind heart.

He is brave, because, with a conscience void of offence, he has nothing to fear.

He is never embarrassed, for he respects himself and is profoundly conscious of right intentions.

He keeps his honor unstained, and to retain the good opinion of others he neglects no civility.

He respects even the prejudices of men whom he believes are honest.

He opposes without bitterness and yields without admitting defeat.

He is never arrogant, never weak.

He bears himself with dignity, but never haughtily.

Too wise to despise trifles, he is too noble to be mastered by them.

To superiors he is respectful without servility; to equals courteous; to inferiors’ kind.

He carries himself with grace in all places, is easy but never familiar, genteel without affection.

He unites gentleness of manner with firmness of mind.

He commands with mild authority, and asks favors with grace and assurance.

The Victorian Station web site has plenty of good information be sure to visit their site.

On Wednesday, April 1, Michael Moore - that darling of the far left - had this to say in his blog about the firing of the head of General Motors (emphasis mine):

Nothing like it has ever happened. The President of the United States, the elected representative of the people, has just told the head of General Motors — a company that’s spent more years at #1 on the Fortune 500 list than anyone else — “You’re fired!”

I simply can’t believe it. This stunning, unprecedented action has left me speechless for the past two days. I keep saying, “Did Obama really fire the chairman of General Motors? The wealthiest and most powerful corporation of the 20th century? Can he do that? Really? Well, [deleted by me]! What else can he do?!”

This bold move has sent the heads of corporate America spinning and spewing pea soup. Obama has issued this edict: The government of, by, and for the people is in charge here, not big business. John McCain got it. On the floor of the Senate he asked, “What does this signal send to other corporations and financial institutions about whether the federal government will fire them as well?” Senator Bob Corker said it “should send a chill through all Americans who believe in free enterprise.” The stock market plunged as the masters of the universe asked themselves, “Am I next?” And they whispered to each other, “What are we going to do about this Obama?”

Not much, fellows. He has the massive will of the American people behind him — and he has been granted permission by us to do what he sees fit. If you liked this week’s all-net 3-pointer, stay tuned.

It has often been noted that democracy is just a nice word for mob rule. This incident just proves that to be fact. Let’s look at a few of Mr. Moore’s statements:

“Nothing like it has ever happened.”
The reason that “nothing like it has ever happened” is that up until now, politicians used to at least pretend that this was a nation of law and not of tyranny. They pretended that The Constitution truly was the supreme law of the land and they were seldom bold enough to openly defy it.

“What else can he do?”
As long as those who worship Hussein Obama as some sort of Christ figure maintain a political majority, I suppose he can pretty much do anything he wants to do. Hitler was able to keep a lid on his opposition in his own country. Obama has managed to completely stonewall all investigations and lawsuits aimed at simply determining if he meets the Constitutional requirements for president. I see very little in the way for him to assume complete dictatorial power.

“He has the massive will of the American people behind him — and he has been granted permission by us to do what he sees fit.”
This pretty well sums it up. This is the working definition of mob rule.

Goodbye America. The destruction of this nation began in earnest in 1865, and we are now seeing its culmination. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess. While I do not support the Southern Nationalism movement (for various reasons), the number of good alternatives continues to shrink.

Confederate Colonel forum is giving away an autographed copy of Lisa Meyer’s latest CD - Voices Hushed and Still. In keeping with the Confederate Colonel tagline of “The New Life of The Old South”, Lisa’s music combines the best of traditional Southern songs with the fresh clear sound of today. So much of what is labeled “Southern” music sounds as though it was recorded back in the 1860’s. The South did not die or cease to exist in 1865 and neither did her music. Lisa Meyer’s music is the kind of smooth clear music that I can listen to for hours and never get tired of.

Laura and I bought our own copy of Voices Hushed and Still a week or so back and we have thoroughly enjoyed listening to it through our office music system. My all-time favorite recording artist is Loreena McKennitt - a celtic singer with the clearest, most beautiful voice I have ever heard. Lisa Meyer’s voice could easily be mistaken for McKennitt - it is that beautiful!

How To Enter

1. If you are not already, become a registered member of the Confederate Colonel forum.
2. Post to the “Lisa Meyer CD Giveaway” thread no later than April 15, 2009. Please do not post more than once in this thread - additional posts will be deleted! If you have questions about this, please use the separate “Questions and Comments” thread.
3. We will select one post from the thread by using the Random.org random number generator to select a post number. We will post the winner and contact him or her by the email address used during the forum registration.
4. Every member here (except for Colonel and The Colonel’s Wife) is eligible to win.
5. The CD is sitting here on my desk and will be sent directly to the winner by Priority Mail.

When posting to the thread, be sure to first listen to the sample clips of Voices Hushed and Still, then comment on the music on this thread.

In case you aren’t the winner of this giveaway (and we have more giveaways to come), be sure to go to her web site and order your own copy. I am sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we enjoy our copy.

I know you understand that the more people who enter, the less your chance is of winning, but let’s look at the bigger picture: The more people who enter these giveaways, the easier it is to attract high quality giveaway items like we have so far. We have in mind some great items, but we need to have really good participation in these before we approach the companies and artists about donating an item for a giveaway. Also while I’m at it, remember that those who donate are doing so hoping that their own sales will increase from the exposure they get from the giveaways. Please be sure to check the web site of the giveaway items and give your business to those who support The South.

Please be sure to spread the word about this giveaway at other forums you participate in, on blogs, and anywhere else you can think of to let folks know about this great giveaway!