The Boat Shoe Beat: Beyond the Confederacy

I love the South’s history, I love my people’s history. I do, in fact, venerate the Confederacy, warts and all (looking at you, Braxton Bragg). My people fought for Virginia and the Confederacy. I had an ancestor at Gettysburg, my county’s male population was wiped out by the War, and our family estate was left destitute by Reconstruction. The Confederacy’s memory should always be important, and cherished, to a Southerner. We’re shaped by family histories of our ancestors, the glories of their victories, and the painful legacy of their defeat. All that being said, there is a lot more to the South than just the Confederacy. This is a lesson that Southern Nationalists must understand. Southern patriots must look toward the future.

A common, and accurate, critique of Southern Nationalism is its obsession with the War of Northern Aggression. I’ve been in Southern Nationalist circles for more than five (5) years at this point. And, arguing and “gaming out” successful strategies for a hypothetical Lee victory at Gettysburg routinely comes up. While it is certainly a sobering reflection on a lost victory (and what “could have been”) for my ancestors, it’s engaging in useless, yet intellectually stimulating, conversation, and usually more constructive conversations are neglected for fiery debates between armchair military strategists. The same can be said of the fallout of the Battle of First Manassas, Jefferson Davis’ many personnel decision-making mistakes, the continuation of slavery in the context of diplomatic relations and the ethical ramifications, etc.

All of this is, no doubt, interesting and thought-provoking, but it means very little with respect to our people’s present situation or our posterity. And, that should be the focus of Southern Nationalism. The same reasoning applies to our grandparents and great grandparents that politically battled the 1960s social revolutions. Their cause was noble, just as was the Confederacy’s cause just. However, lamenting the past, while disregarding the future, is not a strong foundation for a successful political ideology.

A few things I’ve noticed about modern Southern Nationalists is that they are very effective at diagnosing our current problems, as well as, examining historical failures that have led to our present-day predicament, both in Dixie and Heritage America. However, many Southern Nationalists would rather embrace “negative nationalism” (think offensive, albeit accurate, assessments of current affairs, usually with memes or gallows humor) or aimlessly discuss the late Confederacy and/or our demolished monuments to her, rather than pitch a product geared toward the future that is palatable to your average Southerner.

It’s at this point that most folks ask, “Well, how do we do that?” The answer is fairly simple, but it requires hard work – develop and present solutions that solve today’s problems, as well as, the future.

For instance, Southern Nationalists should be advocating for secession at every single opportunity available. Texas will be free, God willing. Florida should be free. Virginia…she’s going to need a little work. For the first two states mentioned, there’s a good chance for secession to gain steam, especially for the Lone Star State. Advocating online, or IRL, for a free Republic of Texas is drastically more important than discussing Little Round Top or Massive Resistance in encrypted, isolated group chats.

It’s not just a South free from the American Empire, be they independent republics or some sort of, dare I suggest, confederacy of republics, there are many more policy proposals that Southern Nationalists must be supporting. The Right has all but abandoned environmental stewardship (not to be confused with radical, leftwing environmentalism). Southerners have a very deep connection to the land – it’s the land of our ancestors, men and women that fought and died to protect it, they harvested from it, and hunted on it. We have an almost mystical appreciation for our hollers, swamps, quiet pines, rolling hills, tidal flats, and windswept beaches. Commonsense protection of our Southern soil should be a policy plank for Dixie patriots. It would definitely provide a needed distinction from the neocons (a people salivating to destroy a virgin forest for a new strip mall).

“Southern Nationalism” should be synonymous with reasonable positions outside of dank memes, the Confederacy, racial slurs, and White reactionary 20th century political pushback. When identifying as a Southern Nationalist, someone should instantly, more or less, understand your positions on law and order, traditional values on parenting and the protection of children from depravity, the 2nd Amendment, free speech, rational infrastructure planning, pro-family tax policies, non-interventionist positions, necessary immigration overhauls, historical and cultural preservation initiatives, educational priorities, etc.

As always, and this has been bandied about on this blog for quite a while, a movement must be “for” something, at its core. It cannot be “against” as its sole purpose. Of course, there are a ton of issues within modern America that Southern Nationalists are absolutely against, be it crime, iconoclasm, or cultural decay. But, a serious movement presents ideas and positions they’re advocating for, not always railing against.

Southern Nationalists must always honor the Confederacy. Shaming Yankee transplants isn’t the end of the world, either. However, if we’re going to save our people, we must look to the future and develop policies and positions beyond defending the Lost Cause and the likes of George Wallace and Theodore Bilbo.