Week 7: The South's Enduring Conservativism - 5 views
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Eli Melrod on 11 Oct 12This piece talks about why the South continues to be extremely conservative politically. I've never been to the South and have always wondered what's going on with the political conservative climate, because it seems to me that conservative economic policy actually hurts a lot of regions in the South. These "Room for Debate" pieces on the NY Times are awesome, because they provide a lot of different perspectives. I'd love to hear all your guys take on this: San Franciscans and Atlanta peeps alike.
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John West on 14 Oct 12The question the author brings up about "solidarity across race lines" has always been in the back of my mind during elections like this, when poor or working class whites side with fiscal policies that simply aren't designed to benefit them. I'm pretty much on the same page as you, Eli, in that the extremely deep-running religious and class lines that the author uses to characterize Southern voters in general is pretty foreign to me. The idea that the author puts forth in the last paragraph, the bargain of working class Southern voters to remain "'real' whites" in exchange for losing economic clout, is a pretty compelling part of party politics that I wish the author elaborated on a little more. I'm also curious why, based on the religiousness that the author points to as such a large factor, these working class voters don't simply participate as fiscal liberals and social conservatives?
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mabel taylor on 16 Oct 12I really liked this article, both because of the discussion of Southern demographics, like Eli, I wish I knew more about the political situation in the South, and the introduction to remaining racial lines (I also wish this piece had gone on longer) that go beyond open prejudice or discrimination but can be observed in voting patterns and political allegiances. I think the power of tradition here is fascinating and I'd be interested to understand specifically what is sacrificed to remain within this balance of "morality, class and race" or how they play out beyond the South somewhere like San Francisco.
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Anna Schutte on 17 Oct 12I think this article brings up important ideas. I'd like to know more about how affluent whites used whiteness in the 1940s to align lower class and middle class whites with their political views. I do know that cities like Atlanta have had famous black mayors who shared religious beliefs and economic goals with both black and white voters. It is definitely something I would like to know more about.
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miles henderson on 20 Oct 12Great post Eli. I think this article makes many valid points because in the south, the conservative history is very apparent. Being from Georgia especially during election, President Obama is not widely respected and people often criticize his policies harshly. I hate to say it but I do believe that racist southern ideals are partially the reason for some of the unpopularity of Obama in the south. Relating to the conservative tendencies in southern states, I believe the reason the south has remained predominantly right sided is because tradition is such a big part of southern culture, and with southern tradition comes conservative values.
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Jonah Schacter on 21 Oct 12For me this brings up evidence to support people not being able to move past their moral compass even if it means progress in their socioeconomic outlook and progress in the nation. It makes sense to stay true to their self, but it is not justifiable to hurt yourself and your nation by preventing forward progress. In theory it makes sense to try and change their minds, but it is a lot easier said than done and would take a great amount of time and we have to be patient about it.