Dear Barb, no need to apologize, i expected it and i am not offended. Your whole premise is faulty to begin with. The "long ago insurrection" talk and belief instilled by our governments education is why we cannot and will not give up! You need to do some serious studying on the subject as you are dead wrong! I suggest just two books to start - "When in The Course of Human Events", Arguing the Case for Southern Secession by Charles Adams. From the back cover: "The Civil War violently destroyed the decentralized federal system of the Founders and opened away for the vast centralized empire of today. To legitimate this revolutionary change, Americans have been taught that secesion was unconstitution, that the South seceded to protect slavery, and that the North invaded to emancipate slaves. Charles Adams a NORTHERN historian, argues persuasively that these propositions are false. The first step in healing the fractural historical memory imposed on all Americans by the Civil War is to face the hard truths that Adams brings into focus." Charles Adams is the world's leading scholar on the history of taxation. (220 hardback pages cost abt $20) "War for What? by Francis W. Springer . On the back cover he wrote: "For every slave the slave traders sold the South more than ten were sold to Brazil, Cuba and the West Indies. Why is all the hatred over slavery directed at the South?" Francis Woodend Springer b 1899 Washington, DC, traces his ancestor back to 1600 in MA. He d. 1991 in on his retirement farm in Virginia. He was raised in NYC, NY, a graduate of Columbia and president of the Malvern NY school board. He lived and worked in the North all this life. (this is paperback for 9.95) You can be both an American an a Confederate Southern American - after all we fought to make this country independent and we wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Our stake in American is very great indeed. josie At 09:52 PM 11/7/2001 -0500, you wrote: >Hi, >Hope Josie and Carolyn don't mind my jumping in here a bit. I'm not sure >whether I'm a Southerner or a Northerner since I'm in a "border state". >I am sure that I am an American. I respect the opinions of Southerners >who, several generations after the Civil War ended, are still hurting for >their region and its losses from that war. I haven't personally noted >any Southern names being removed from structures, streets, bridges, etc. >but it may just be that in my region they are not. I do not favor >censoring books, etc, except in extreme cases, ie. child porn. So I am >sorry that "Song of the South" is not available. The reason for its >banning (?) is that it perpetuates the myth of the "happy slave" and the >myth of "Uncle Tom" as created in Mrs. Stowes's "Uncle Tom's Cabin". >Again, I don't agree with its banning, as I do not approve of censorship >in general except as noted above. > >I do have ancestors who were both slave owners and a somewhat famous >slave trader. >I honor my ancestors because I believe that is the honorable thing to do. > I do not, and refused to teach my son, that everything they did was >honorable. Owning and selling slaves was not honorable. The extent of >the horror of that institution are today minimized. I still hear "Dixie" >being played. It's part of our history. It makes me feel good. I know >it was used during the Civil War but it is not a bad song. I do take >exception to flying a flag in America which flew over an insurrection >against this country, however honorable the people and the cause were. >In the Civil War, we were either Yankee or Confederate (or Quaker). >Since we live in and enjoy the benefits of >the United States, how can we support a long ago insurrection against our >country? We are all Americans now, and if there was ever a time when >Americans needed to be united, it is now. I think the time is fast >coming when we have to make a solid choice. We are Yankee or Confederate >or American. I choose to be an American and I honor our flag. Dear >friends and listmembers, I pray I do not offend anyone. > >I love the South. I do consider myself more Southern than Northern. The >beauty and the glory of the South is not gone and will not die. Now, >however, it is not just "the South", it is the Southern part of the >United States. >I say God Bless the South, the North, and may God Bless America. > >If anyone wants to...strongly disagree with me...please send it to >keenebj@juno.com unless you think the list will be interested. >Thanks for listening. > >Barb T > > >============================== >Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp >Search over 2500 databases with one easy query! Josephine Lindsay Bass Confederate Southern American 216 Beach Park Lane Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 321-868-1771 My Southern Family, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mysouthernfamily/