Reconstruction has succeeded. We, as Southerners, are now afraid and ashamed to defend our heritage. The media shows us that we are all backward, tobacco-chewing, ignorant hicks who are responsible for the greatest tragedy between races in the history of this country, and, as such, we have become the only cultural subgroup that it is politically correct to demean and degrade. The pain that this causes me reaches to levels that I cannot even put into words. I know that some of the smartest people from my generation I have ever met attend this school, so how have we gotten to this point, the point at which we are ashamed of ourselves? I will not be shamed by stereotypes. I say this primarily because I know that any broadband judgment of a people is inherently wrong, as illustrated by what I said earlier. The second reason that stereotypes cannot bother me is because I am proud to be from the South. It is my home, it always has been, and it always will be. I love the fact that if my car breaks down somewhere between Starkville and the Mason-Dixon Line someone will stop to help me. In the South, we follow the Golden Rule. If I saw someone flagging me down on the side of the highway, I would probably stop, mostly because I would want someone to do the same for me. It’s really just a matter of manners, and I was brought up to always mind my manners.
Southerners, in general, are well known for their manners. That’s why when friends visit from Maine and New Jersey they always say: “Everybody’s so friendly here.” All the South’s criticism comes from people who believe the stereotypes, their preconceptions, however, keep these types of people out of my habitat, and that’s just fine with me. But we are still afraid to proclaim our heritage when outside our own habitat and that is what is on my mind.
Our own flags, our strongest symbols of our heritage, are under attack. Look to Georgia, Alabama, and, where it all started, South Carolina. However, Mississippi, situated in the heart of the Deep South, refused to sell her heritage. When Nissan, an ocean away, insisted that the flag be changed so that Mississippi could “become prosperous” and a place to get rich, Mississippians stood up and solidly shouted a resounding negative to their proposition. We said: “No, thank you, we would rather have our birthright than your bowl of pottage.” My very soul leapt for joy. I felt like putting a Mississippi state flag on my car even though I’m from Tennessee. The people of Mississippi deserve gratitude from every other Southern state and from every person who is proud of their Southern heritage because they stood up and told the system: “Back off. We are still not happy that we have to be a part of your system and will defend ourselves if backed into a corner, no matter how you want to honey-coat your attempt to manipulate or bribe us.”
That’s why I’m proud to be from the South. That’s why I’m proud to be going to school here, in the heart of the South. And if you want to go toe-to-toe with me about the South and its history, you had better know what you are talking about.