Sin: The Last Vestige of Virtue
The South retained a sense of class and hierarchy long after the rest of the country democratized. But because History is a proper noun, despite what other conservative writers will try to tell you, this arrangement was bound to end.
Still, the South withstood the encroachment of egalitarianism for so long, I’m a little surprised about the extent to which Southerners are now averse to aristocratic sensibilities. Southerners have lowered their standards in every facet of life – politics, art, even sex. For instance:
The last vestige of stylized-aristocracy in Southern culture – and perhaps in Western culture generally – was discrete, upper-class infidelity (granted, it wasn’t always discrete, but more times than not…). Adultery, once upon a time, was not uncommon for the prestigious. Commoners, however, always cheated less. Why? Because they were far more religious and imbibed from their overlords a sense of propriety and decorum, even if it wasn’t perfectly accurate. But when every man became a king, although no man wore a crown, every man subsequently became accustomed to aristocratic privileges without the necessary virtues for enjoying them; i.e., adultery, being immoral, should above all things be discrete. But discretion, like all forms of restraint, is a vice for the average Southerner, not a virtue. Hence, rampant, no-fault divorce and deep-fried Oreos.
The South held out as long as she could, but eventually modernity prevailed. I’ve often wondered who or what is to blame for the devolution. A case can certainly be made against Protestantism. After all, a democratic religion is not actually a religion – not in any real meaning of the word – so much as it’s formalized justification. Indeed, obedience, much like Caesar, is dead and turned to clay, especially for Southerners, who are more partial to entitlements than to quaint restraints like discretion and duty. You won’t see Captain Butler running off to go down with the flag in today’s age; you’ll find him modifying Bonnie’s child support payments.
Southerners marry and divorce today as if it were their job. I’d rather Southerners simply cheat discretely. Taking an amoral stance on immorality is at least a little better than taking a moral stance on amorality. (The former at least admits immorality exists). That’s something Southerners once understood; indeed, that’s what Southern charm was. “Bless your heart,” after all, was not a proxy for, “Do what you want.” But understanding this is an idea too great for democratic peoples. Discretion is gone with the wind.
The American South was the last great hope of hierarchal order in a free society, discounting, that is, the Catholic Church (which is in danger of becoming as post-Christian as Protestantism’s several denominations). The British held this distinction previously. But talk about the loss of aristocratic virtue. Even the Royal Family doesn’t do adultery right anymore.
This article was firs published by Mainstreet News. It is reprinted here with express permission.
