General Patrick Cleburne:
"Surrender means that the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy; that our youth will be trained by Northern school teachers; will learn from Northern school books their version of the War; will be impressed by all the influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors, and our maimed veterans as fit subjects for derision.
If this cause, that is dear to my heart, is doomed to fail, I pray Heaven may let me fail with it, while my face is toward the enemy and my arm battling for that which I know is right.
I am with the South in death, in victory or defeat. I believe the North is about to wage a brutal and unholy war on a people who have done them no wrong, in violation of the constitution and the fundamental principles of the government. They no longer acknowledge that all government derives its validity from the consent of the governed."
President Jefferson Davis:
"I love the Union and the Constitution, but I would rather leave the Union with the Constitution than remain in the Union without it."
John C Calhoun:
"The government of the uncontrolled numerical majority, is but the absolute and despotic form of popular government... If we do not defend ourselves none will defend us; if we yield we will be more and more pressed as we recede; and if we submit we will be trampled underfoot."
Where are the Southern people who once had a near-universal pride in, and consciousness of, their distinct heritage? Dead and gone, mostly, with the younger generations fully indoctrinated to cultural Marxism, and ashamed of their ancestors.
Nearly 20 years ago, the late Dennis Wheeler wrote this optimistic statement:
''Dear fellow Southerner man,
You may never have heard, or it may have just slipped your mind, but you belong to something great. You are a vital part of the Southern people. We are a vast people, numbering in the tens of millions, born to a noble pedigree, possessed of a glorious past, witnessing a present re-emergence, and, I'm convinced, destined to a still more glorious future.
You see, between the years 1725 and 1775, nearly 250,000 Scotch-Irish immigrants came to the shores of the Carolinas. And a little earlier, 40,000 Cavaliers had landed in Virginia. Virtually all Southerners can trace their lineage back to these two groups of people. And you are a part of it all. You are not alone.
No other people in the United States holds a familial tie to so many others in America. There are nearly 40 million of us today. We need to work together. We need to frequent each other's businesses. We need to promote our own interests as no one else will look after us, and, indeed, other groups are promoting their own interests at our expense.
You need to see yourself, not as a rootless individual, but as part of one of the great peoples of the earth, who, though down right now, are certainly not out.
[...]
The noble blood of great men and women courses through our veins today. We do them a great dishonor by living the way we as a people live today!
There are those who despise us, who wish to stamp us out, or worse still, to use us as a milk cow so they can live lives of ease. There are those who believe us to be evil, and demand we repent at the altar of the damned while they sup at the table of the blessed. There are those who fear us, and so continually try to strip away all reminders of what we once were.
But we are still here, still living in our land, the land of our forefathers, more numerous than ever and though tyrannized, abused, and dispirited, poised to renounce our oppressors and reclaim what is rightfully ours.
For nearly 200 years, from George Washington to George Wallace, our people acted with a singleness of purpose. Even though defeated in a great war in 1865, we stood as one people to the outside world, defending our lives, land, homes, and inalienable rights with remarkable solidarity. But since our defeat in the Civil Rights War of 1965, we have been betrayed by many of our natural leaders in government, in the church, in business, and in the university.
[...]This paper has two purposes: (1) to press upon you the fact that you are not a solitary individual wandering aimlessly through the maze of life but are part and parcel of a vibrant people. (2) to define for you what a true Southerner is.
Just these two ideas will instill enthusiasm and vibrancy into your life. You are not just a cog in a wheel, but are a necessary part of a living organism, the Southern people. You are not alone; there are plenty of us who share your struggle, your ideals, and desire to see you live a life of peace, security, and justice.'' - Dennis Wheeler, from 'An appeal to Southern men for Southern solidarity'
The past week's events have compelled me to come out of 'retirement' for now, though I had decided to stay away.
Blogger: please stop altering my post. My words are being deleted as I type.