I recently ran across the following commentary from Valerie Protopapas. She presents a different view from my own on the subject of American identity. For balance, I thought our readers might enjoy her take on the subject:
Southerners were and are ‘Americans.’ They were, in fact, the definition of ‘American’ from the beginning and this was believed by every part of the original ‘nation’ except for New England. If you listen to some of the lectures available through the Abbeville and Stephen Dill Lee Institutes as well as from Dixie Broadcasting by men like Drs Livingston and Wilson, you will learn that the Yankee was considered ‘odd man out’ and disparaged by the rest of the country while he (the Yankee) could see nothing but himself and his section as the proper understanding of an American. When a Yankee wrote a dictionary, it wasn’t an ‘American’ dictionary, it was a ‘New England Yankee’ dictionary. And when he wrote a book on geography, it was New England geography. Books by Yankees about the rest of the nation were filled with hatred and contempt for New Yorkers, the Dutch, Pennsylvanians and, of course, Southerners.
Only after the War of Secession did the Yankee become the standard by which all others were judged and the people of the South whose ancestors had created and nurtured this country and whose blood had been spilled and fortunes sacrificed for its furtherance, condemned to the bitter dregs of calumny. But never say that you, as a Southerner, are not an ‘American’ because, in fact, you are the true and actual “Americans” and what is put forth today as an American is a false and deceptive image based upon New England utopianism.
Mrs Protopapas is a frequent commentator on the Southern War Room forum, has been quoted by Dr Thomas DiLorenzo and is active in the Stuart-Mosby Historical Society.
It makes me sad that so few real southerners seem to have a voice, and have to listen to other people define them, and put words in their mouth. Such are the New Yankees, the remnant of the ‘ethnic’ europeans who were brought for the industrial revolution and are the Real yankees of today, (and have been since the 1830s).
That’s reality.
The new narrative that simply seems to degrade New England Protestants usually just does it b/c the new speakers are haters of protestants, lol. Like the jews who attack people in the “flyover country” for a million reasons, but never the real reason— of their Germanic and northern european roots, so are these others.
If any real southerns read these blogs, hope they attend to it. New England ceased to define yankee in 1830, and they became the ones we have now. They were from europe and self-centered enough to see that “yankee” as the power in the country and what they should replace (as the “power”).
They came with Empire Christianity, and a european taste for conquest, whether by pope, queen, or banks.
I do think it’s interesting that so many, especially catholics, and often Italians (like DeLorenzo, although I do like his Lincoln books) HAVE SUCH A NEED to name the south, to pontificate on it, to try to make nice with it, to use it to backdoor slam protestantism so obviously at times, etc, etc.
I hope someday the southerns have a chance to write books about them, and pontificate about them, and probe and analyze them, lol
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2. Inerts.
If we are to consider ourselves as ‘Americans’ (if there is such a thing) than it is incumbent to save ‘America’ and purify it. ‘America’ is not limited to the South no more than it has been to limited to New England. But to impose our way on others is not part of our nature. It is part of the nature of the Yankee of New England. Therefore if we are to be ‘Americans’ we will have to adopt the entire Yankee nature or only the aggressive aspect of that nature. Either way we become less Southron. Better to break with ‘Americans’ and ‘America’ altogether. We are SECESSIONISTS after all. Let us break completely with those who hate us. Let us have no point in common with them. It was the bonds of being ‘Americans’ that has kept the South in bondage all these years. It aided and abetted the surrender of the Confederacy. It was that nagging little voice that prevented the South from re-asserting independence. Lastly it is the mark of being Reconstructed. I urge you to knock those fetters from your soul.
I agree, Harold.
As to DiLorenzo or Tom Woods, I’ve never heard them ‘slam’ Protestants. Dixiegirl you really have no idea what you’re talking about do you? You’ll find far less offensive remarks made towards Protestants in any of their entire books than one of your comments has towards Catholics. Why don’t you come clean and admit to being a troll intent on sowing dissent in Southron nationalists ranks? Why else would you try to hijack the comment thread of every article with anti-Catholic rants even those without a direct theological theme? You constantly defend Yankee Protestants and purposeful insult all Catholics even Southron ones. If you want to defend New England Protestants, Puritans, Calvanists and attack the Catholic Church then go to a site that has that purpose. You’ll find plenty of people to insult over at Catholic Answers. But please don’t use the name Dixiegirl. I would not want to encourage the stereotype that all or most Southrons are opposed to the Catholic Church.
Harold, Your analysis is spot on! DG is not even a good troll.
Thanks Joe