I started reading Enduring Legacy: Rhetoric and Ritual of the Lost Cause By: W. Stuart Towns. It's about the south and how they don't like the north and the fact that they lost the Civil War. I started reading this book knowing that people down south didn't have too much respect for the north, but I found out that they are extremely hurt by the fact that they lost the Civil War. It just bugs the crap out of them. A quote that stood out to me was "There are many shared memories we Americans cherish: Paul Revere's ride, Washington crossing the Delaware, Jackson at New Orleans, Custer at Little Big Horn, and Teddy Roosevelt charging up Kettle Hill in the San Juan Heights all come quickly to mind. The mythology and memories of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Pea Ridge, and countless other battles and skirmishes, gallant leaders, heroic soldiers, faithful slaves, and staunch women on the home front form a similar mosaic of legend for many white southerners." (xi). It's funny how these people just won't let go of the past. It's like the past is the only thing they have, which isn't true at all. They have wonderful country side, they have great comfort food, and they have really good music. They shouldn't be living in a past that wasn't even good for them. They lost everything they had worked for before and during the war. I mean I feel bad for them, just because they lost so much, but at the same time, these are the people who owned slaves and treated them poorly. I think that those who are dwelling in the past are just upset because they lost the war and they want to be "Rebels" and raise Hell (It's kind of what Southerners are known for). I can't tell if the author likes the south or not yet, he mostly is listing facts. I think I'll have a better understanding when I read farther into the book.
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