[Peace-discuss] Message from Redneckia

[LAURIE]

I would say that it contains a lot of very accurate observations that most
Amerikan want to ignore or deny.  We are a country of ignorant uncivilized
savages - even those of us who play at being sophisticated, urban, educated,
peace-loving and peaceful, fair and just, civilized, and cultured people.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net [mailto:peace-discuss-
> bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Ron Szoke
> Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2008 9:52 AM
> To: C. G. Estabrook; peace-discuss
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Message from Redneckia
> 
> 
> Why rednecks may rule the world
> By Joe Bageant
> Author of Deerhunting With Jesus
> 
> During this US election cycle we are hearing a lot from the pundits and
> candidates about "heartland voters," and "white working class voters."
> 
> What they are talking about are rednecks. But in their political
> correctness,
> media types cannot bring themselves to utter the word "redneck." So
> I'll say it
> for them: redneck-redneck-redneck-redneck.
> 
> The fact is that we American rednecks embrace the term in a sort of
> proud
> defiance. To us, the term redneck indicates a culture we were born in
> and enjoy.
> So I find it very interesting that politically correct people have
> taken it upon
> themselves to protect us from what has come to be one of our own warm
> and
> light hearted terms for one another.
> 
> On the other hand, I can quite imagine their concern, given what's at
> stake in
> the upcoming election. We represent at least a third of all voters and
> no US
> president has ever been elected without our support.
> 
> Consequently, rednecks have never had so many friends or so much
> attention
> as in 2008. Contrary to the stereotype, we are not all tobacco chewing,
> guffawing Southerners, but are scattered from coast to coast. Over 50%
> of us
> live in the "cultural south", which is to say places with white
> Southern Scots-
> Irish values - redneck values.
> 
> They include western Pennsylvania, central Missouri and southern
> Illinois,
> upstate Michigan and Minnesota, eastern Connecticut, northern New
> Hampshire.
> So when you look at what pundits call the red state heartland, you are
> looking
> at the Republic of Redneckia.
> 
> As to having our delicate beer-sodden feelings protected from the term
> redneck; well, I appreciate the effort, though I highly suspect that
> the best way
> to hide snobbishness is to pose as protector of any class of folks you
> cannot
> bear. Thus we are being protected by the very people who look down on
> us -
> educated urban progressives.
> 
> And let's face it, there's plenty to look down on. By any tasteful
> standard, we
> ain't a pretty people.
> 
> Uppity and slick? Not us...
> 
> We come in one size: extra large. We are sometimes insolent and often
> quick to
> fight. We love competitive spectacle such as NASCAR and paintball, and
> believe
> gun ownership is the eleventh commandment.
> 
> We fry things nobody ever considered friable - things like cupcakes,
> banana
> sandwiches and batter dipped artificial cheese.even pickles.
> 
> And most of all we are defiant and suspicious of authority, and people
> who are
> "uppity" (sophisticated) and "slick" (people who use words with more
> than three
> syllables). Two should be enough for anybody.
> 
> And that is one of the reasons that, mystifying as it is to the outside
> world, John
> McCain's choice of the moose-shooting Alaskan woman with the pregnant
> unmarried teen daughter appeals to many redneck and working class
> Americans.
> 
> We all understand that there is a political class which dominates in
> America, and
> that Sarah Palin for damned sure is not one of them. And the more she
> is
> attacked by liberal Democratic elements (translation: elite highly-
> educated big
> city people) the more America's working mooks will come to her defence.
> Her
> daughter had a baby out of wedlock? Big deal. What family has not? She
> is a
> Christian fundamentalist who believes God spat on his beefy paws and
> made the
> world in seven days? So do at least 150 million other Americans. She
> snowmobiles and fishes and she is a looker to boot. She's a redneck.
> 
> American ethos
> 
> The term redneck indicates a lifestyle and culture that can be found in
> every
> state in our union. The essentials of redneck culture were brought to
> America by
> what we call the Scots Irish, after first being shipped to the Ulster
> Plantation,
> where our, uh, remarkable cultural legacy can still be seen every 12
> July in
> Ireland.
> 
> Ultimately, the Scots Irish have had more of an effect on the American
> ethos
> than any other immigrant group. Here are a few you will recognize:
> 
> ~  Belief that no law is above God's law, not even the US Constitution.
> 
> ~  Hyper patriotism. A fighting defence of native land, home and heart,
> even
> when it is not actually threatened: ie, Iraq, Panama, Grenada, Somalia,
> Cuba,
> Nicaragua, Vietnam, Haiti and dozens more with righteous operations
> titles such
> as Enduring Freedom, Restore Hope, and Just Cause.
> 
> ~  A love of guns and tremendous respect for the warrior ideal. Along
> with this
> comes a strong sense of fealty and loyalty. Fealty to wartime leaders,
> whether it
> be FDR or George Bush.
> 
> ~  Self effacement, humility. We are usually the butt of our own jokes,
> in an
> effort not to appear aloof among one another.
> 
> ~  Belief that most things outside our own community and nation are
> inferior
> and threatening, that the world is jealous of the American lifestyle.
> 
> ~  Personal pride in equality. No man, however rich or powerful, is
> better than
> me.
> 
> ~  Perseverance and belief in hard work. If a man or a family is poor,
> it is
> because they did not work hard enough. God rewards those who work hard
> enough. So does the American system.
> 
> ~  The only free country in the world is the United States, and the
> only reason we
> ever go to war is to protect that freedom.
> 
> All this has become so deeply instilled as to now be reflexive. It
> represents
> many of the worst traits in American culture and a few of the best.
> 
> And that has every thinking person here in the US, except perhaps John
> McCain
> and Sarah Palin, worried.
> 
> Very worried.
> 
>   --  Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-
> /today/hi/today/newsid_7600000/7600592.stm
> Published: 2008/09/06 09:39:12 GMT  C BBC MMVIII
> 
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