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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Old Wounds, More Words
To the editor: In his review of Gods and Generals (“Wooden Soldiers,” Feb. 27, 2003) Kristian Lin wrote that the movie is “intellectually fraudulent. ... It resorts to that comforting lie that some white Southerners tell themselves, that the war was about states’ rights. The war was about slavery. Any attempt to say otherwise is dishonest... .” This is the pot calling the kettle blacker. You’ve got to be really arrogant to claim anyone who disagrees with your belief the war was over slavery is intellectually fraudulent. In 1832 South Carolina almost seceded because of a high tariff rate — and then the Republicans passed an even higher one.
Claiming it is only white Southerners who support the states’ rights position is equally dishonest — see the works of Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, Ken Hamlin, black pro-Southern people. It’s not just whites who believe in states’ rights, but true Southerners of all races. The principle of states’ rights is that the federal government is strictly limited to only those powers given it in the U.S. Constitution. The principle of those who claim the war was over slavery is that the federal government is limited by the Constitution unless what is happening is really bad awful, in which case the feds may appropriate any amount of power needed to “solve” the problem.
Lincoln won, and for 138 years, the federal government has been finding more bad, awful things — communism, poverty, drugs, and now terrorism — whose defeat requires even more federal power. Now we have the Patriot Act, under which a suspected terrorist may be arrested without being charged, or even told what he or she is accused of, and held without trial, or the person’s family may not even be told of the arrest. How do we know a person is a terrorist? We have to trust that the government isn’t lying to us — the government does not have to produce the evidence it supposedly has against such persons. Bill of Rights? Gone!
It is people like you, who claim those who fought for a limit on federal powers are “intellectually fraudulent” who have done the most to enable this to happen.
C. F. Allen
Dunedin, Fla.
Spuds, Wolverines
To the editor: Thanks for your review of Threadneedle St.’s c.d. (“Killer or Filler,” March 6, 2003). You were up front about your prejudice toward us spud-eaters, and you gave us a fair hearing without bending over backward into condescension. I’m sorry we didn’t achieve my stated goal of bringing you as much enjoyment as your paper brings me, but at least I’m glad we didn’t make you want to “stick a rabid wolverine down [your] pants.” We’re all drowning in a flood of new product these days, and I appreciate your singling us out for mention. And PS: We got Rory Gallagher; you got Louis Grammatico.
Bobby Bush
Fort Worth
Correction
The March 6, 2003, cover story “Technocracy Knock-Out” incorrectly suggested that City Manager Gary Jackson hired David Miller as director of the IT Solutions department. Mr. Miller’s hiring preceded that of Mr. Jackson. Fort Worth Weekly regrets the error.
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