Michael Keany wrote:
>is why I second Jim Devine's regular reminders re grassroots organising. As
>for political vehicles, these are going to be far from perfect (e.g.
>Scottish Socialist Party). But I reckon any party with either or both 1)
>reliance on large corporate donors; and 2) absence of reference to Marx is
>not going to be among those vehicles. The best we can do for these is to
>force them (or elements of them) leftward by formulating political
>programmes and campaigning from the outside.
>
>Sorry for the stream of consciousness,
>
>Michael K.
Michael, I am not sure you are keeping up with the Marxism list archives,
but there was an interesting thread recently on Southern regionalism. In
the course of dredging up some material that illustrated the danger of the
left tail-ending neo-Confederate ideologues, I came across a perversely
interesting website: http://www.homerule-for-dixie.com/ website. It
appropriates of Scottish nationalist themes on behalf of the rebel South,
which might make one think twice about uncritical endorsement of certain
themes expressed by the Scottish left.
----
Welcome to "Home Rule For Dixie!"
For most of the past decade, I have been actively involved in a movement
advocating self-determination for the people of Dixie -- a movement that
has attracted some of the brightest, most committed patriots in America today.
Inspired by the Scottish National party, modeled after the Lega Nord
movement in northern Italy, the Southern movement began with high
aspirations. To its credit, it has contributed mightily to an emerging
interest in devolution within the United States. On the other hand, the
Southern movement has succeeded in attracting only a few thousand
supporters -- a far cry from the Scottish National Party and Lega Nord,
both of which have succeeded in building broad coalitions numbering in the
hundreds of thousands.
After studying this issue closely, it has occurred to me that some vital
ingredient is lacking within the current approach, and that is why I have
established this page with the theme: "Home Rule for Dixie." The purpose of
this page is to chart a strategy for reaching Southerners who, for whatever
reason, have not been reached by the current approach.
Times, people, even entire cultures are subject to change. For better or
worse, the Dixie of the twenty-first century is vastly different from the
one our brave forefathers defended almost a century and a half ago. If we
are nationalists worth our salt, we must come to terms with this reality.
Home Rule in Dixie will function as a "political movement of one." It will
serve as a personal forum through which I will outline many of my strongly
held views on Southern nationalism -- views based on almost a decade of
experience.
The site is based on two premises: one, that the current Southern movement
is in desperate need of a makeover, and, two, that for it to succeed, it
must appeal to a wider cross section of the region's population.
In one sense, this page amounts to a call for a revised, updated
nationalism for Dixie but one that is constructed from the bricks carefully
laid by earlier generations of Southerners.
This page is a work in progress, so please be patient. I'm not a full-time
political agitator -- only a middle-aged political amateur with marital and
parental responsibilities and a day job who is working as quickly as he can
to make this page a relevant resource for people who love Dixie and yearn
for it to be free.
Sincerely,
Jim Langcuster, Creator and Editor, "Home Rule For Dixie"
Louis Proyect
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