I had a disturbing realization the other day. For those who don't know, "The Lost Cause" is a history of the Civil War [View all]

[eppur_se_muova]

told by a Southern newspaper editor (IIRC) and Confederate sympathizer. His accounts of Confederates in battle (I'm told) are unabashedly admiring, and Conf. generals are treated as heroes. A lot of people have heard/read the title without reading the book (I among them) but the one other thing they may be familiar with is the closing line of the book:

'The South shall rise again"

I first heard this expression as a young child and thought of the South rebuilding from the rubble of war -- most of the War took place on Southern soil, after all -- and rising to a new level of development and prosperity, having been behind the Union on both counts, which proved decisive. But it means something completely different.

It means the South shall "rise again" -- in rebellion. I doubt a Tennessee editor would have ever predicted that the grandson of a German draft-dodger would become the avatar for the long-bottled-up resentment and hatred which lingers in the South, and among some Westerners with Confederate sympathies, particularly as regards racial differences throughout our history. But, bizarrely, that is what we have today. Donald Trmp carries in him all the racism-powered hatred of any of the most radical factions of the KKK, and does not try to hide it (well, maybe he does - if so, he's obviously inept at that, too. Or he just keeps forgetting the script). And with the unbridled power of Trmp's massive ego to tap, it appears that, in large part, the South -- or rather, all the worst aspects of the South -- are in the process right now of rising again. I just hope we can cut this phenomenon loose from its power source before it causes still more irreversible damage. We're all hoping for good results in November, but will they be good enough ? Will it really take a double-scoop thrombus lodged in his midbrain to end his political career ? Or will the GOP suffer such a setback in Nov. that the long knives will come out at last ?