Confederate Colonel

Mr. Mike Tuggle wrote an excellent response to my previous post regarding the League of The South. While I do not agree with his analysis and conclusion, it was well-written and explains the reasoning that I am opposed to. His reply is too important to possibly be missed in the comments section, so I am posting his full reply here, along with my own further comments. Be sure to read his related blog post on Dixienet.org.

You and I clearly agree on the goal for any real and meaningful Southern activism, and that is to preserve our culture and protect our people.

What is threatening them? It’s an out-of-control Federal government, an alien, occupying force that’s assaulting basic Constitutional rights, brainwashing our young people into abject self-hatred, and engineering a demographic revolution — all while robbing us of our tax dollars and undermining our economic security. Those are the things that are destroying our culture, and they all stem from the same rotten source, the District of Corruption.

The Southern people are remarkably resilient, and are capable of restoring their culture to vitality to where it can again become self-sustaining.

But before the wound can begin to heal, we have to remove the foreign body that is harming it. Just like the American secessionists of 1776, and the Confederate leaders of 1860-61, we must energize our people with a clear message that wakes them up to what’s being done to them, and organize them to action.

In other words, we must organize politically. Once we have restored real self-government, and can then work for our values and our goals, rather than for the enrichment of a globalist elite, our culture will self-heal and self-organize around the existing elements that are still alive and fighting.

Your clear-headed analysis tells me you’re someone we need on our side. I hope this response shows our sincerity and commitment to reach out to you and others like you with similar questions.

Perhaps some background about how I came to my conclusion about how the political process fits with this would help: When I was a candidate for political office (a county-wide office in 1992), I truly believed that if I could only get my message out to the voters, they would see that clearly I had the best, most honorable, most logical plan and background for the office. This was my first real taste of real world politics. I had been involved in various political campaigns before, starting as a college student with the Nixon re-election campaign in 1972, but I had never been a part of the strategic decision-making process of a campaign.

I learned a lot during that campaign, and I was able to apply it a few years later when I was on the campaign staff of a first-time challenger for state representative (we won, and we also won the re-election campaign two years later). Several other campaigns (always working for other candidates), holding office in the local Republican organization, and having spent the past 14 years with my own business selling software and data services to candidates, lobbyists, and PACs, has shown me that the voters are anything BUT logical. You have to reach them on an emotional level if you are going to get their attention and their vote. That’s the science behind sound-bites; that’s the science of propaganda. One’s cultural roots are one of the deepest emotional parts of the thought process (only things such as direct family can routinely be classed as being deeper). If you can appeal directly to cultural “hooks”, then you can attach your own political agenda to those hooks - and you then have that vote. A certain German dictator rose to power in the 1930’s by being an absolute master of that strategy.

The key to any political campaign (or advertising campaign or anything else that tries to influence large groups of people) is very much like planting a garden. Success depends on well prepared soil where the seeds will find water and nourishment and a lack of pests. If you sow your seeds on dry, rocky ground, the crop is going to fail. Politicians manage this by finding that good ground (saying whatever people want to hear) rather than taking the time to prepare that good ground and turning it into fertile soil. Continuing the garden analogy, we do not have that luxury - there is simply not a large enough “field” available, so we have to do the long hard work of turning poor soil into good soil. That is the core strategy that I am pursuing.

This is how issues like this are sorted out by gentlemen. Ideas are exchanged in a logical and reasonable manner. Sometimes minds are changed and sometimes they are not. I haven’t changed my mind and I am pretty sure that Mr. Tuggle has not changed his either. While we are both working toward the same goal, we are each taking a different path to get there. I think mine is better, and he thinks his is better. May God make both of us right.

When I first read about the Southern League (later changed to League of The South), I was excited about what I was reading - an organization dedicated to preserving Southern culture. I was excited about the concept of “Hedge Schools” and gave a lot of thought to how that might work and spread throughout The South. I went to a local meeting made up mostly of men in my SCV camp to discuss the possibility of creating a local Southern League group. At the time, I was already over-committed to other projects, so I put that on the “back burner” for a bit. The name changed to League of The South (LoS) due to a trademark issue with a sports league. I continued to receive the email newsletter and follow LoS publications. At some point, the focus changed.

I read a League of The South report about a national LoS meeting. In that report, they made a very clear statement that the goal of the LoS is to be the establishment of a new Confederacy. The statement was framed in such a way as to make it clear that there was some sort of internal struggle within the organization about this and that the new goals of the LoS would now focus on a political outcome rather than a cultural outcome. They were seriously aiming at a new secession movement that would reinstitute a new Southern nation. I certainly have no problem with that if it were possible to wave a magic wand and completely change the demographics and the social and cultural and political makeup of the Southern states. Not having access to such a magic wand, we are left with having to deal with the reality of the current situation - here, now, today. Having stated my reasoning in detail in other posts, I won’t try to repeat it here, but I will repeat what I believe to be the key point - Nothing changes until the culture changes.

The culture must change before any major political changes are attempted. Most political “leaders” are leaders only because they see which way the crowd is going and then run ahead to the front of the line and claim to be “leaders”. A leader who tries to gain and hold power without first shaping the culture to match his objectives is doomed to eventual failure. That is why the “Reagan Revolution” is now just a footnote in history - the culture was not there to support his leadership, great as it was.

You might ask, “What is the problem with having political power as a goal?” One problem is that you attract the wrong kind of people to leadership positions. Before we go any farther, let me make it clear that I am NOT referring to any specific persons in the LoS. I have no reason to believe that the leaders of LoS are anything but honorable men. In fact, other than Dr. Hill, I can’t name a single person in a leadership position in LoS. However, by making LoS into primarily a political movement, they are more likely to attract those who are willing to try to take the shortcut and go directly to political efforts without first doing the long hard work of trying to change the culture.

Let me offer a specific example of what happens when an organization - in this case, the LoS - gets into the political business rather than first working on the culture. Several years ago, I received a phone call from a field agent with the FBI (from a field office on the west coast of Florida). It’s a long story of how that phone call came about, but that’s not the point here. They wanted to know what this organization was all about - was it a potential terrorist group? Was it a harmless group that had or could be taken over by hot heads (or, unmentioned, by agents provocateur)? The reason that I was willing to talk with them was to try to put their minds at ease that, to the best of my knowledge, they were completely open, honest, and harmless; on the other hand, in my own mind, I had to wonder about the possibility of a rogue group within LoS that could truly be someone to worry about. It turns out that the reason they popped up on the FBI’s radar screen was a naive attempt to tell the FBI that they were NOT anything to worry about. Before that contact, the FBI (or at least this particular field office) had never heard of the LoS.

What is the point of bringing that incident up? Simple - at a time when the government is looking for boogymen behind every bush and tree (calling them “homegrown terrorists”), a group with the stated objective of secession is painting a big target on themselves. We have to ask, “to what point?” That is pointless, self-destructive behavior - unless that organization exists to gain a perceived future political power by being at the head of the line should some “black swan” event occur that would make secession possible.

Let me say again - Nothing changes until the culture changes. Without a culture change that would make a large portion of the population actively support a revival of the Old South, the only way to effect such a political change would be to do so by force. That would be absolutely intolerable - something that no Southern Gentleman could ever stand for. That takes us back to the need for the LoS to return to their founding purpose - a sharp focus on restoring Southern culture. It takes time and effort and determination and generations of time, but it is the only way for an honorable return to the traditions and ideals of the Old South - and the traditions and ideals of America’s Founding Fathers.

I firmly believe that the League of The South is an honorable organization founded and headed by honorable men who have simply lost sight of the larger goals. It is my sincere hope that the LoS will realize this and make a clear shift to focus exclusively on building Southern culture in the certain knowledge that, if successful, political change will follow cultural change. They need not seek political leadership of the people - if the LoS is successful in rebuilding Southern culture, the people will look to those who lead the cultural revival for leadership.

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.

Today, Barack Obama signed into law $787 Billion worth of socialism. In his comments, he said what will likely come back to haunt him:

“I don’t want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems. Nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn our economy around. But today does mark the beginning of the end,” the president said.

While a good argument can be made that the beginning of the end started long ago, today will surely go down in history as a major milestone in this nation’s race to the bottom.

This is what celebrity worship looked like in the 1960’s as young girls screamed and worshiped a band called The Beatles. This same group of celebrity worshipers ushered in the era of radical feminism, abortion, disdain for the traditional family structure, the “sexual revolution”, rebellion against legitimate authority, and a feminized media.

This is what celebrity worship looks like today when Obama comes to town. Draw your own conclusions.

This morning I was at my parents’ house and the TV news was on (by the way, Dad just turned 95 on Sunday). I kicked the TV habit over 10 years ago, so I have only caught glimpses of the glass commode while visiting other folks or passing the appliance section of a department store. I finally understand how this country could end up voting for, and indeed worshiping Obama.

The local station has a regular editorial spot on the news where they tell their adoring flock of sheep how they should think. The vice president / general manager of the station went on a rant against the evil conservatives who dared to recommend that throwing money at public schools is not necessarily the best use of money taken from our pockets (it’s “for the children”, of course).

The fact that this represents the position of a major media outlet (CBS station in the Orlando, Florida market) made a powerful impact on me as I thought about how our media-obsessed society handles what comes out from the lips of media personalities. It is not too much of a stretch to say that American society has become a celebrity worshiping cult.

I am so glad that I made the decision to take television out of my life. There is a bumper sticker that several folks at my church have on their vehicles that really says it all - “Free Your Mind. Shoot your TV”. If you want to make a real change to your life - a very positive step toward freedom and living a good moral life - kicking the TV habit is a good place to start.

This picture really says it all. Just as the Clintons were well known for trashing the White House by doing things such as tossing half-empty coffee cups and splashing the contents on the walls, we see how the Obamazombies treat the site of the inauguration of their celebrity leader.

The White House and the area of Washington D.C. surrounding it are often referred to as “the people’s house”. This looks like a scene from the aftermath of Woodstock. Then again, it’s only fitting since so many of Obama’s supporters are the dried-up, worn-out  hippies of the Woodstock generation.

Even a dog knows to not mess in its own space. Apparently that bit of wisdom is lost on the “me first” culture that pervades American society today. The need for the Southern Gentleman and Southern Lady has never been greater - and never more lacking.

Southern Nationalism is the effort to create a new Southern Homeland by secession of the Southern states or by other political means.

Judging by the number of Southern Nationalist organizations that keep popping up, whose primary goal is the establishment of a Southern homeland by secession or by other political means, it appears that a growing number of Southerners are taking this seriously. I can certainly sympathize with the dream of a revived Confederacy, and I agree that the Confederate States of America never officially surrendered (only the armed forces surrendered, and they do not have the authority to surrender a nation), making the Southern states a dormant sovereign nation occupied by the U.S. federal government. That said, those who seriously advocate Southern secession at this point in history are demonstrating an incredible lack of understanding about politics, sociology, and demographics.

One of the key concepts that I have learned from years of involvement in politics and the study of what influences culture is this: Nothing changes until the culture changes. A classic example of what happens when major changes are made without first changing the dominant culture is the “Reagan Revolution”. While it had a major impact on American life at the time, it is now just a minor footnote in history. Why? Because the Reagan Revolution was essentially the work of a fairly small group of very dedicated and very talented people who pushed through their own agenda by sheer force of will. Their agenda was a noble one, but it was not built on a solid foundation. In fact, it was not built on any sort of foundation at all. The people simply went along for the ride until they were tired of it, and then promptly returned to the false comfort of the nanny state government. Without the support of a sympathetic culture, the Reagen Revolution faded into the mist of history.

Short of creating a tyrannical military dictatorship (something no Southerner could possibly support), Southern Nationalism is just a fantasy. Even worse than being a harmless fantasy, this movement drains strength from where it is really needed - working to make real changes in the culture so that one day, Southern values will once again be seen for the noble ideals that our ancestors worked and fought and died for.

Even with the best efforts to change the culture, the chance of any widespread shift in attitude about The South is probably close to non-existent. A far better approach is to concentrate on building small enclaves of Southern culture that exist within the rotting corpse of what now passes for American culture. We need to shift our focus away from the political realm that we cannot control and toward that which we can control - our families and our circle of friends and relatives.

Southern Nationalism is an idea that needs a major dose of reality stirred into the mix, and the reality is that it is a completely unworkable idea. Instead of working for something like that, we need to focus our attention much closer to home - our homes and our families. Our post in the government of the Confederate States of America is not that of Secretary of War or Secretary of State, but as an Ambassador of Southern culture.

An article in Sunday’s New York Times points out the demographic changes that are taking place in America and how that changes the political landscape. Here are a couple of quotes from that article:

“If Tuesday’s election were confined to white America, polls show, Senator Barack Obama would lose.”

“When Ronald Reagan won re-election in 1984, whites made up 86 percent of the electorate; by 2004, they had dropped to 77 percent.”

“… when combined with (Obama’s) two-to-one edge among Hispanics and his 10-to-1 edge among blacks, it has given him a national election-eve lead.”

From an article by Patrick Buchanan, we get the following:

“In 1960, when JFK defeated Nixon, America was a nation of 160 million, 90 percent white and 10 percent black, with a few million Hispanics and Asians sprinkled among us.”

“… as one studies the latest projections of the Census Bureau, the America of our grandchildren will be another country altogether, a nation unrecognizable to our parents, a giant Brazil of the North.

In 2050, there will be three times as many people living here as in 1960 – 420 million. White Americans will be a minority, 49 percent, and falling. Hispanics in the United States, over 100 million, will be equal to the entire population of Mexico today. Our Asian population will be almost as large as our African-American population today.

By countries of origin, America will be a Third World nation. Our cities will look like Los Angeles today. Los Angeles and the cities of Texas, Arizona and California will look like Mexico City.”

The question, then, is what is the future of Southern Culture? Will The Old South be trampled into the ground and forgotten - or demonized to the point of complete revulsion? Will the idea of the Southern Gentleman and Southern Lady be dismissed as a laughable anachronism? Will the Southern hallmarks of honor and polite behavior be seen as hopelessly naive concepts?

America - like every other nation - is comprised of the sum total of her people and defined by the dominant culture. The Yankee culture (or lack of culture) that dominated following the War for Southern Independence contained the seeds of its own destruction, but since it was the dominant culture, Southern Culture was also doomed to be dragged down with it. The radical egalitarian ideas of the Northeastern Leftists applied that same egalitarianism to cultures. They refused to believe that one culture could be superior to any other culture - and that guaranteed the eventual destruction of America.

The primary objective of Confederate Colonel is to promote and encourage the code of the Southern Gentleman and Southern Lady as guidelines for daily living. If we maintain the culture of The Old South in our daily lives and in our families, then Southern Culture will survive. It will not only survive, it will be recognized for what it is - the shining beacon of light in a dark and depraved world. The roots of Southern culture are derived from Biblical principles, which is why much of The South is also known as The Bible Belt. It is the duty of every true Southerner - including those who are Southerners by choice but not by birth - to embrace, promote, and nurture our great legacy of Southern Culture.

What was once unthinkable is now all but certain - the election of Barack Hussein Obama as President of the united States. It has often been said that we get the government we deserve, and that is clearly the case here. We have gone from a nation blessed by God because we feared God, to a nation about to be punished by God because it has turned its back on God. The Holy Bible documents times when God would punish entire nations - as a nation - for their wickedness. In this case, God doesn’t need to do anything but stand back and watch as we punish ourselves by electing Barack Hussein Obama as our leader. How it must grieve Him to watch the self-destruction of a nation He has so richly blessed.

So, what happens now? Do we sharpen the pitchforks, storm the Capitol, and declare a new Southern Secession movement? Despite the reflexive urge to answer in the affirmative, the answer to that is “No.”

There is nothing we as individuals can do to change things on a national level. We can only change things on an individual and small group level, so our emphasis needs to be focused there. Just because the rest of the world has lost its grip on common sense and decency doesn’t mean that we must be dragged down with it as it swirls around the drain before its final descent. Our Southern ancestors stood strong in the face of adversity and now we must do the same. Remember that God is still in control. Remember where your loyalty lies, and never compromise your honor.

Sirs, you have no reason to be ashamed of your Confederate dead; see to it they have no reason to be ashamed of you.
Robert Lewis Dabney, Chaplain for Stonewall Jackson