Worth Considering

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Debunking the Myth of the Lost Cause: a Lie Embedded in American History

I first read about the “lost cause” theory of the Civil War many years ago. Maybe 20. It’s the argument that the war was not about slavery per se, but about states’ rights, which is constitutionally guaranteed.

I have always been attracted to contrarian ideas. And the decentralization of power has always made sense to me. So, without knowing anything about it, I was predisposed to the lost cause idea. Normally, when I run into contrarian ideas that rub against the grain, I adopt them unthinkingly. But in this case, the subject matter – slavery – was too serious, even for me, to deal with cavalierly. So I spent a few months reading (well, skimming) every book and essay I could find on the subject. And I found very little to support it. I did, though, find loads of evidence that the Civil War was, as I was taught, fundamentally about slavery.

Here’s a little video clip from TED Talks that makes that point succinctly and pins the lost cause theory chiefly on Southern women. Click here.

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Notes From My Journal

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What I Believe: About What Matters Most to the Human Animal

If you want to know the truth about government and big company activities, instead of believing what you read in the government- and big company-influenced press, you must “follow the money.”

That’s what they say. By “they,” I mean those that believe that world politics – including geopolitical relations and even war – is controlled by a small group of very rich individuals. And there is no doubt that many wealthy people use their wealth to try to influence political and social outcomes.

But if you want to know what really shapes the world, in the larger context, it’s not the money. It’s something much bigger, much stronger, and much less easy to understand. I’m talking about culture.

Some people will lie and steal for money, but very few will commit murder for it. However, every person that feels they are a good person (even down deep) will be happy to kill and die to preserve their culture.

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Fun and/or Interesting

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I’ve told you about these videos from “The Wine Explorers Letter.” (Disclosure: I have a small interest in the company that publishes it: the Bonner Private Wine Partnership.)

I enjoy them immensely. They are designed perfectly for the amateur wine drinker like me. And they are very helpful for learning the essentials of what makes wine drinking an activity that is unique and uniquely pleasurable.

Here’s a recent example – a quick introduction to California wines. Click here.

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Fun and/or Interesting

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Leonard Bernstein was, without a doubt, the most famous American conductor in the second half of the 20th century. In addition to conducting the New York Philharmonic, he was a composer, a pianist, a Harvard lecturer, and an author. He won seven Emmys, two Tonys, and 16 Grammys. In this clip, he gives his opinion of an up-and-coming rock ’n’ roll group, The Beatles. Click here.

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Arts & Letters

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Long before Girl With a Pearl Earring, I was a huge fan of Johannes Vermeer. Here is a short lesson about him from an art historian, with a few comments about why his art was so great. Click here.

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A Word to the Wise

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Fricative – from the Latin for “to rub” – refers to a hissing or buzzing sound produced by forcing air through a narrow space. In phonetics, a fricative is a consonant sound made by directing a stream of air with the tongue towards the teeth – e.g., the Z in zoo and the S in said. As used by Elizabeth McCracken in her short story Property: “[She] was a short, slightly creased, ponytailed blond woman in a baseball cap and a gleaming, fricative black tracksuit that suggested somewhere a husband dressed in the exact same outfit.”

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Readers Write

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“One hour speaking to you is worth a year of reading books!” – TD

 

RS sent me this little video. It’s a touching story, if I do say so myself. He said, “Not sure if you remember this.” (I didn’t. But it I’m not going to forget it now.) Click here.

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