The White South's Last Defeat

The public affairs blog Salon has an essay up now by Michael Lind called The White South's Last Defeat that is worthy of our pondering.

Lind's major point is that "the long, drawn-out, agonizing identity crisis of white Southerners is having effects that reverberate throughout our federal union."

I think Lind is right about his basic point, although he defines the issue in North/South terms, and its a national, not just a regional issue. After all, in the 2012 election, Romney won the states of the upper midwest by margins almost identical to his victories in the Deep South.

But it does have a distinctive flavor and history here, in the South. 

Salon's webpage also features Charlotte-based photographer Chris Keane's powerful image of the South Carolina state capitol building, with the Stars and Bars still flying.