Today is primary day and 3.5 million Flori

Saturday, May 03, 2008

The Democratic civil war circa 2008: A North Carolina Journal


US elections 2008: In North Carolina, the battle between Obama and Clinton has pitted neighbour against neighbour

Interesting article from Terry Mancour in Durham:

Comparing anything to a civil war is a dicey proposition in North Carolina - the state lost more men than any other, and several bloody battles were fought here. Issues of heritage and hate, slavery and secession are not mere historical artefacts here, but real, breathing factors in people's everyday lives - the war and the Reconstruction that followed bit indelibly into our culture. So the term is used with appropriate caution - and it's fully applicable to the struggle between senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in their quest for the White House.... (Terry Mancour reporting from Durham for the UK Guardian Unlimited/Comment is free)

And somehow, as Barack has noted, we want to move on. As a Southerner born and raised in Jim Crow South, I long ago took Heiner Muller's advice: I TOLD YOU YOU SHOULDN'T COME BACK DEAD IS DEAD.

Whether in US political theater, or Berlin avant garde, the point is to move forward. The American Civil War is over. Let's do something else.

No comments: