Continuation of the Civil War?

Yesterday, while discussing the hateful screams at the town hall meetings, a friend suggested that these are people who have never accepted the end of the Civil War. For them, it is still states' rights and limited central government.

What do you think?

And, its about race

Don't believe the hype that its not

The real power elites just want Americans at each other's throats so they don't pay attention to Wall Street, banks and insurance companies robbing us blind. It's like creating a race riot in one part of town to create a distraction to rob the bank. Country vs city, black vs white, gay vs straight, Christian vs everyone else, Anglo vs Hispanic, pro Michael Vick vs anti Michael Vick, it doesn't matter to them as long as the vast majority is distracted from the real prizes.

The other phenomenon the plutocrats love is "poisoning the well", making all public discourse functionally impossible. That's what birthers, deathers,etc are all about.

...but the hate they've inherited/bought into is about that age, but realistically a lot older.

..they are the same people who didn't want segregation to end and they were the same people who called the hippies "long-hairs". These people applauded the Communist witch-hunts headed by McCarthy and told you that if you didn't like it, you could "gyit out".

they are in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire and Colorado? and this is when my friend said that it was not necessarily about slavery but about states' rights and against centralized government.

Something capitalism and the notion of "self-made men" the "American dream" of having it all, has encouraged.

Democracy is at odds with Capitalism imo.

WE- the people shouldn't always take a back seat to the rich and powerful "ME" the 'individual'-

:shrug:

...I think that people mistake the idea of American Individuality to mean that you have to be as much of an island unto yourself as possible and that you have no responsibility other than to you and yours. People are unable to deal with the ambiguity inherent in the combination of democracy, capitalism, and individuality. This is true especially when these people are well-off and have no way/reason to empathize with those who are in dire straits and as a result can see no reason why their money should go toward making things more equal or simply helping out another human being. This then leads us to trying to get those people to explain to us how they can reconcile the hypocrisy inherent in calling themselves Christian while simultaneously refusing flatly to help anyone in need.

The citizens that fought for the souths right to have slaves....well most of them were not slave owners right? The were poor white citizens just making it.....but they had this notion that they were fighting for their rights....

That was then

Today we have mostly white poor and middle class Repugs all over the country fighting for the rights of the Insurance companies and in general corporations to screw every American....including themselves.

Even though time passes some things never change....

Halfway through the movie one of the local leading Rebel sympathizers says he's giving up fighting for Missouri and moving to Texas because the Union will win. He said the reason the Yankees will win is because when they built Lawrence KS, the first thing they built before a business or a church was a school! To this day one hears Southerners bitching about government schools.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Welcome to DU!!:hi:

Living in the distant 'burbs of Houston, it is common to see the confederate flag and bumper stickers stating things like "The South will rise again" and other "Southern Pride" type of comments. It isn't the whole reason, but a definite factor.

with the old South of the Civil War.

East Texas is another matter. It is very close to Louisiana. From my experience, I think it is the most western part of "The South." It was a big culture shock when I first moved here.

We (the west) criticize the middle eastern countries for harboring centuries-old grudges, but we have a hot one goin' on here and it won't end anytime soon.

EVERY year new books come out, glorifying the "culture & heritage" of the south...there are bazillions of monuments, many cling to that damned flag of the loser-side, and as more and more "history" gets tweaked, they move further and further away from the FACTS.. Their side LOST..They were (and are) sore losers, and they need to get with the 21st century

that they are not really represented by the federal government. A good example is the Sagebrush Rebellion in the West during the 1970s http://www.knowledgecenter.unr.edu/specoll/mss/85-04.html. It's also popular with people who feel that they can influence their local and state governments, but are ignored by the feds.

My argument to those people is that many of the rights that states guard so selfishly cost the majority of Americans more than they realize. Why should I need to get a new driver's license ($$$) when I move to another state? Why should someone who has taught for years be forced to take several classes in order to be certified to teach in another state($$$)? Why do states have varied requirements for professions such as cosmetologists, funeral directors, and nursing? Many of those state's rights work against the interests of Americans.

As to whether or not the screaming at town halls is about limiting the central government, yes I can see that. I just don't know if it's valid to link it to those who are still fighting the Civil War.

almost cost us the union.

Whether it is about states' rights or individuals who are hurting: they don't like "big government" until... they like and need it.

The main example is all the Republicans who all of a sudden support stem cells research because someone in their family can benefit from it.

See the latest states rights stance from blue states with stricter gun control laws and the National CCW reciprocity effort.

It's all about NEGROES and PENIS SIZE and LET US MOLEST OUR CHILDREN WITHOUT FEDERAL INTERFERENCE and LET US LYNCH WITHOUT FEDERAL INTERFERENCE.

Really. Y'all should adopt a Fundamentalist Christianist family -- if you weren't raised by one.

If you weren't raised by Fundamentalists, then you have NO IDEA what's coming.

And then, of course, one hears about Glenn Beck who said Thursday that rights come from God so Americans have no "right" to health care "unless Jesus comes down, opens a health clinic and heals us himself."

And he is a Mormon, by the way.

They do NOT want the responsibility that comes with it.

'Give everything to me, but you had better not give anything to my neighbor.'

They were between 10-50 then, and they're between 50 and 90 now. Bitter, old, racist white people.