Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

It's been some weeks, friends and loyal readers, since I last posted. We've been busy with one surgery on my knee and now, Nicole, my wife is preparing for one related to her dialysis on Thursday coming up in Spokane. There is another related to her back come June or July, too. Keep her in y 'all's prayers, please!

Recently we all read about the lady who wants to remove the word “nigger” from Mark Twain (Samuel Clemmens') classic childrens adventures. Now, one thing I have not heard is a lot of outcry over this. I understand the sentiment. No one I hang out with is racist or wants to be associated with them. But, c'mon folks, this is historical fiction that was written in the parlance of the day. While we find that term socially offensive today, in the time that Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer are set in, it was just another term for a Black person. It may have been perjorative and predjucial, depending on the tone of voice, but it may not have been. In those days, the term was used differently than it is today.

Would I encourage my kids to talk like that? Not at all. But neither would I try to change history and whitewash the past in order to appease tender sensibilities. The books Mark Twain/Sam Clemmens wrote are worth reading no matter who is reading them. They tell a story that is good in its own right, but they also tell a story that tells us much of where we have come from as a country, a culture, and as human beings. We get a glimpse into the minds of the great 19^th Century writers and their millieu.

If you find the word, “nigger,” offensive, then engage your children about the word and what it means to them and you and how that might be different from another time and place. This is one of the great authors in American Literature and should be required reading in every public, private and home school in America! While it is fiction, it can be a spring board into many areas of the social studies and history, including 19^th Century economics, the differences between North and South and many, many other aspects of our country's history.

You can get your own unchanged, original versions of Mark Twain's masterpieces right here:

http://lulu.com/spotlight/Confederate and in the search bar at the top, type in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” or, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” While you're there, you can look up the title, “Travels” and get an early description of the lands of the South and see what Huck Finn's and Tom Sawyer's world looked like in their day!

Happy Secession Day!

Today in history: 1860: South Carolina becomes the First in Secession! The brave men and women of the South took the first bold, brave step in shaking off the shackles of tyranny. It was fitting to have South Carolina take the lead. Her motto is Sic Semper Tyrannus, Thus Ever to Tyrants!

Take a few minutes today to visit in your hearts and minds the memories of those  valiant men and women who gave some or all in the Second War of Independence. Then take a few minutes to thank God that such people are around and for the actual sacrifices of those valiant men and women of days gone by. As the Sesquicentinennial of the War Between the States officially begins, expect hatred of Southrons to begin anew. Expect professional leftists and hate mongers and race baiters to come out of the woodwork.

There's great news though: Incoming congressmen have signed on to a public statement telling the SPLC that you are the real hatemongers: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-potok/splc-responds-to-attack-b_b_797273.html

More good news: For those lovers of all things Celtic, lulu.com has given me a promo code for you to get William Butler Yeats' The Celtic Twighlight for 15% off at checkout: RESOLUTION305. The code is good through January 5, 2011.

Finally, here is a little Southron levity. There truly was a time when we could laugh at each other. Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRyIMqXA_o8

Deo Vindice et Sic Semper Tyrannus!

Destruction and Reconstruction

There are so many different accounts of the War Between the States. Everyone is unique and priceless -- at least among those who were writing of first hand experiences. The bravery and tireless loyalty of battered and bedraggled Southrons who fought to the last, the priceless courage of the women and "old folks" at home, the steadfast hope until the bitter end -- we're all familiar with these sentiments, but each story is unique.

Yet among the unique stories of our war of independence for the South there are a few that stand out. One such memoire is "Destruction and Reconstruction" by Lt. General Richard Taylor. Taylor is the son of U.S. President Zachary Taylor, he was born and raised in Kentucky, studied in Scotland and France and finally settled in Louisiana. He was educated and genteel. Yet without mincing words, he presents a veritable who's who of the second half of the Nineteenth Century in truly nuanced accounts of battles from Stonewall Jackson's Shenendoah Valley Campaign to the guerilla warfare of western Louisiana to his final surrender in 1865 in Citronelle, Alabama in the last stronghold of the Confederacy east of the Mississippi River.

That's where most memoires end. Taylor takes us further. He goes on to describe in some detail the era now known as Reconstruction and ponders at some length its meaning. He tells why he believes Southrons make better soldiers: i.e. because they are surrounded by hard work and privation as comes with agrarian life while Northerners are surrounded by luxuries and dependence on manufactured goods to such a degree that it weakens their character.

If you want to understand why the South is still under siege today, read this book. So much of what we, as Southrons, suffer under, the political wrangling, the cultural genocide of our customs and way of life, the hate-mongering of Northern sychophants and the social engineers they cling to is all in this book.  Perhaps General Taylor himself says it best: "The leaders of the radical masses of the North have indicted such countless and cruel wrongs on the Southern people as to forbid any hope of disposition or ability to forgive their victims; and the land will have no rest until the last of these persecutors has passed into oblivion" Sadly, he did not quite have the foresight to see that the persecutors' children would take up the mantras of their forebears.

You can download or purchase a print copy of this book here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/destruction-and-reconstruction/2920000
List price: $14.61
Sale price: $13.15 (Through December, 2010)
PDF price: $1.56

We Need More Prayer

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-no-praying-in-the-end-zone-112910,0,4538168.story
Go here and read the story. It's disgusting.
Ronnie Hastie, star running back of the Tumwater, Washington high school football team was playing the State's 2A Semi-finals game in Tacoma. He scores a touchdown and drops to a knee and points skyward. He was praying with a gesture that essentially said, "Thank you, Jesus." As they say, "You go, kid!" But that's not what the ref said. This young man was flagged and given a 15 yard penalty!
While living in Texas about 4 or 5 years back, I knew of at least one high school where the parents and fans prayed a public Our Father/Lord's Prayer and everyone stopped to respect that, if not participate. But up in Yankeeland, our kids get penalized for giving glory to their creator with a gesture that does not require participation or the assent of others.
Quite frankly, this land -- north or south -- needs more prayer. We need to acknowledge our Creator. If we don't start being Hezekiahs, we'll soon see our Nebuchadnezzer at the gates. This land is on the edge of Divine judgement and we need to avert that.
Coach Sid Otton, you need to check your priorities in openly supporting the call instead of calling for a repeal of the rule. This young man on your team was giving glory to God, but the ref flagged him for self-aggrandizement on the field.
Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake about it: Dixie needs our prayers and so do her supporters, where ever they may be. Our Southron people have the most powerful tool on earth for freedom: access to the Father in prayer, if only we will avail ourselves of it. We can overcome the enemy by the power of prayer. As Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Alleluia!

The Celtic Twilight and The Hound of Cullan

The Dixie Diarist is pleased to announce our reprints of two Celtic-themed books.

First is F. A. M. Webster's The Hound of Cullan, a Victorian-era retelling of the tale of Irish mythological hero, Cú Chulainn. Cú Chulainn was an ill-fated warrior who fought against the forces of the greedy Queen Maeve who stole an Ultonian prize cow.

The second is William Butler Yeats' timeless classic, "The Celtic Twilight," a book that has inspired countless Celtic descended story-tellers, poets and musicians. This book made Yeats an household word that is recognized even today, although few know why they know his name. Read this and find out why.

Just visit The Dixie Diarist's storefront at http://lulu.com/spotlight/Confederate to see these and all our titles. Through the end of the year, everything print is 10% off, just so as to make shopping a little easier on the wallet for the upcoming holiday season.

Thanksgiving Day

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the US. Those whose kids are trapped in grade school level government indoctrinations centers have been cutting out paper Pilgrim hats and Indian feathered headbands and get to enjoy all the Pilgrim-hatted turkey decorations. We hear all about the Pilgrim Puritans and their feast that they shared with the Indians. But what's the true story? As with all things Yankee, a spin to make the "betters" look better than their "lessers" is in full play with this myth.
Read Colonial Governor William Bradford's chronicle of the Plymouth Colony entitled, "Of Plimoth plantation." The Pilgrims were starving. They had adopted a socialist common pantry. But, as with all things socialist/communist, they failed to keep up with the needs of the people they purported to work for. By then, they had developed somewhat amicable relations with the local Indians who came to their rescue because common human decency would not watch another starve to death when help could be given. In thanksgiving to God, a feast was proclaimed. Thus the basis for our modern myth of the first American Thanksgiving was born.
Here's another truth: It was fourteen years after the first Thanksgiving meal by English colonists at Jamestown, Virginia who held the day of their safe arrival in 1607 as a "holy and perpetual day" of Thanksgiving to God as a part of the very Charter of the colony. If that is not enough, the Spanish colony at San Augustino (St. Augustine), Florida celebrated a communal meal with the Indians there in the 1540's. It, too,  was a Thanksgiving meal. Thanksgiving meals are truly a co-opted Southern institution.
You will likely hear about Abraham Lincoln's proclamation of a perpetual Thanksgiving Day holiday in the US. But he was not the first to make a Thanksgiving Day proclamation. George Washington, that first and finest of all Virginians was -- in 1789.  You see, in America, it is Southrons who are first to give thanks to God publicly and then Yankees imitate us (with one side of their mouths whilst they publicly deny God with the other side of it by their actions and policies in office) and take the credit due to our Southron peoples.
Nevertheless, we should not give up our Thanksgivings to God just because Yankees distort our history to their advantage. Indeed, we ought to make great efforts to reclaim this part of our heritage and live it out as a holy day and not just an excuse for a family meal. We should meditate on what we are thankful for quite extensively throughout the year, but especially at this time. I have many, many things to be thankful for myself, but one thing in particular comes to mind that I'd like to share.
Yesterday, a young man of school age in Indiana named Eddie was brought to my attention. He had brought his Confederate Battle Flag to school. As a result, he was called a racist, he was bullied, and another student tried to throw his flag in the trash. He was ordered to put it in his locker and keep it there. Rather than try to bully back or start an altercation, Eddie did the right thing. He sought out the help of a competent adult:
H. K. Edgerton, the former North Carolina chapter president of the NAACP who has taken to defending the heritage and history of Black Confederates.
H. K. sadly declined because he knows well and good that no one will accept him or what he has to say in Federally directed school systems. He applauded Eddie for his bravery and congratulated him for his strength of character. I thought something had to be done for this boy. As the owner of The Dixie Diarist, I could do something: give him some free Southron books in PDF format. I contacted Eddie through Facebook and told him how to get his free books.
This gave me an idea. I want to show my gratefulness to God for these young people who defend their Southern/Southron heritage with courage by giving them any three Dixie Diarist titles in PDF for free. So: if you know a young man or woman (under 18) who has character and bravery in the face of hertiage haters, contact me at TheDixieDiarist@yahoo.com and tell me their story or pass a link to their news story and any contact info you may have (email is preferred or a Facebook user name) and if I can get in touch with them, I will email them any three titles from The Dixie Diarist for free. The requirements are: they are under 18,  they cannot have retaliated with hate or violence, they cannot have incited racial tensions by intentional or wonton design, I need to be able to contact them and their parents have to be okay with the gift.
Please share this with any pro-Southron family or person you know.
Here is a Thanksgiving gift for you: http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=WQ26144948
Thank you for your bravery, Eddie! And thank you, for yours, HK!
View HK Edgerton in action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny5UjVTtkF4
Happy Thanksgiving Day to All from The Dixie Diarist!

Don't Mess With Dixie

Don't mess with a boy from Dixie
Unless you plan to see
Southern ragin' fire
Burnin'up the hills...
-- from Don't Mess With Dixie by the Free South Band.

Every society has its downcast classes. Many times, the name of that group becomes synonymous with backwardness, idiocy, degeneracy and so forth. In America today, it is the Southern culture(s) that is (are) refered to this way. The allegedly cultured segment of society use terms like hillbilly, Redneck, Cracker as derogatory epithets. In fact, it has become so common, that social commentators like James Howard Kunstler make comments (refering to the Peak Oil concept) like:   "Dixieland is hopeless, what with their thrall to the born-agains and the misfortunes of their demographic (namely "Cracker Culture," which celebrates ignorance and violence)"; and (refering to a theorized emminant techno-economic collapse), "I remain pessimistic about Dixieland, which I think will be prone to violence and political disorder. In the longer run I believe it will become what it was before World War II: an agricultural backwater." The entire article, which is otherwise fairly interesting, can be read here:
http://www.christmartenson.com/blog/straight-talk-jim-kunstler-coming-cluster/47864 

Now I feel that James Kunstler probably does not harbor hatred for the South, but he has tapped into a cultural stereotype that holds little truth in reality and by default, uses his position of influence in the larger culture to reinforce a terribly mistaken stereotype. Why does he get away with this? Because it's popular to denigrate the South. But if I were to denigrate Yankee ghetto dwellers as ignorant and backward, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would be up in arms and I might discover that Al Sharpton wants to set up a new headquarters down the road from my home in order to force me to convert my opinion and decisions he disagrees with like he did to the Indianapolis Police Department recently.

There's a lot of secession talk in the air these days, and not just in the South. With the 150th Anniversary of South Carolina's secession and the wave of secession it created across the South for more than a year, this is no doubt going to be a bad 4-1/2 years for anyone who is pro-Southern. Sadly, there is no need for this. A little mutual respect and understanding goes a long way. But, alas, I do not believe this is going to happen. Indeed, if things get tense enough to turn aggressive, I believe that America will simply split up into several smaller, regional countries or autonomous areas. Hopefully, if that happens, I am back in Texas already!

To my fellow Southrons, I have this suggestion: as far as possible, be peaceable with your neighbors and strangers alike. Take the high moral ground and don't give in to Yankee meddlin' and tomfoolery. Don't hesitate to defend yourself, if accosted, but be peaceable as far as it lies within your power. Be the better man and stand united with your fellow Southrons and resist the tyrant the way the South always has: with the heart first and foremost.