Hug the South: We're All in This Together

Southern America has a lot of North in it, and more of it every year. People aren't shuffling off to Buffalo anymore; they're sloughing off Buffalo and moving to sunnier climes. Out of the top ten states that Americans are moving out of, nine are Northern (and the other one is Maryland, which is as close as you can get). Of the top ten states that Americans are moving to, six are in the Southeast. Forget Deliverance: it's a cinch to get your favorite twenty kinds of bagels in the South.

Northern America has a lot of South in it. What are the places that define the culture of the North? New York City? Chicago? How about the rust belt cities of Pittsburgh and Cleveland and Detroit? Each of these cities is defined in no small part by the great migration of African Americans to them from the south more than half a century ago. What's more, White Appalachia cuts right across the midsection of the North. Forget the Pilgrims: the North has got Southern soul and dipthongs aplenty if you pay attention.

Let's stop pretending that South is even a place. It's a lot of places. Greenville is different from Raleigh which is different from Durham which is different from Key West which is different from Montgomery which is different from Athens which is different from New Orleans which is different from Little Rock which is different from Charlottesville which is different from Nashville which may rhyme with but is nevertheless really, really different from Asheville. A lot of these places are a lot more politically and culturally progressive than a lot of places in the North. Amy Ray and Michael Stipe came out of Georgia. Lewis Black emerged from the crucible of Chapel Hill. And then there was that Martin Luther somebody-or-other. Don't tell me they don't count.

The North is not a place, either. It's a lot of places, too. Grand Rapids is different from Indianapolis which is different from Milwaukee which is different from New York City which is different from Utica which is different from Boston which is different from Danville which is different from Portland which is different from Lebanon which is different from Youngstown which is different from Watertown which is different from Hackensack. A lot of these places are a lot more politically and/or culturally conservative than a lot of places in the South. Hello, Indiana KKK. Hello, Dover School Board. Hello, Boston Bus Riots. Hello, Amadou Diallo. Don't tell me they don't count.

While we keep looking backward for reference and we keep telling ourselves that history repeats itself -- sometimes--, we also need to remind ourselves that -- sometimes -- history innovates and that -- sometimes -- history accomodates change. We've been moving and mixing and intermarrying so much that we can't be separated any longer. We can''t move forward without each other.

So thank you and a big fat hug to Virginia. Thank you, North Carolina. Thank you, Maryland. Thank you, Florida. You put Barack Obama over the top and helped bring the disastrous Bush era to a close. Thanks and hugs to the outposts of progressive living in other Southern States that keep on keeping on, slowly bleeding out blue into surrounding communities.

Wake up. It's a new century. We have a new president. Let's move forward. Let's do it together.

Move forward, America. Here's our chance.