Rescuing the Dukes

Southern folk we like .. Poster courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
Today

We actually have a “heat dome” over North Texas and sunny blue skies. Now that the heat is unrelenting I’m wondering if I wouldn’t like some cloud cover after all. I’m going for a walk in Las Colinas with a friend this afternoon so I need to double up on the SPF.

Miscellaneous other

I was appalled that Donald Trump led in the GOP polls for the last week.. The man is truly a train wreck and even many of his fellow Republicans can see that. Yesterday he essentially insulted all veterans by saying that John McCain was not a war hero. Let’s hope that one comment is enough to end his juggernaut. His die hard supporters should be ashamed of Trump’s pettiness and move their support to a serious contender.

Sanitizing the South?

Since the huge brouhaha around the Confederate Flag, the Legions of Political Correctness have taken aim at everything Confederate or Southern. There is talk in Dallas of renaming Robert E Lee Park and Stonewall Jackson Elementary. The Lee statue (dedicated by FDR in 1937) has even been vandalized. I have some comments about all the wrongness here. First of all, vigilantism and vandalism are never a good approach. If you don’t like the statue you should work through government – don’t turn yourself into a graffiti artist.

I’m also reminded of a local movement to remove the word “nigger” from school editions of Tom Sawyer. This kind of literary cleansing actually does something opposite of its intent – it takes away race as a relevant topic. It imposes a cloak of silence over what should be very much reviewed, discussed and understood. It’s a close relative to book burning.

I’m reminded of ISIS tearing down ancient “pagan” statues or Soviet GOSPLAN members renaming St. Petersburg to Leningrad. Such arrogant cultural cleansings do way more harm than good.. they create fissures and resentments that invite a future reckoning. We should never try to pave over things that are troubling or divisive in our collective past – we should remember where we came from.

Baby versus Bathwater

And where does the denial stop? There are many Old South symbols – Aunt Jemima Pancakes, mint julips, Tara-style mansions, and even expressions like “Lawd have mercy”. I’m of southern heritage and I indulge frequently in my Southern peccadillos. I also vote Democratic and I’m decidedly left of center. Don’t anyone deny me of a “Dukes of Hazard” episode or a pecan pie while figuring out which Southern tropes and symbols to stomp on. Some of it like “Dukes of Hazard” has a self-knowing parody at work anyway. They aren’t writing a Boss Hogg recommendation.

Everyone get a grip – listen to “That’s What I Like about the South”. We are keeping the magnolias and the azaleas along with sweet tea, Tex Mex and chicken fried steak. Resident Yankees should know where the EXIT door is if they want to squelch everything Confederate. Surprise – I can make all the relevant distinctions thank you.

© 2015 Snillor Productions

The Best of Times and the Best of Times

Finding a pot of gold .. .. Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
I’m shocked that my 3-day July 4th weekend is almost over. The sky was overcast most of the 3 days and rain was threatened but never delivered. This is our summer of weirdness with cloudy skies and temps about 10 degrees below normal. I think for the sake of consistency we should return to blue skies and 100+ degree temperatures.

LAST WEEK OF JUNE

The last week of June is one that will live in infamy with staunch conservatives. The confederate flag took a hit for being (possibly) a symbol of racism. And then Obamacare and same-sex marriage were upheld by the Supreme Court. Adding to the overall excitement, Donald Trump implied with a broad brush that Mexicans are rapists and drug dealers. As it stands, the Hispanic Voter’s alliance has requested clarification from the GOP Chairman as well as other candidates to see if they all feel the same way. We know that Ted Cruz has chimed in as agreeing with Trump.

When blacks were integrated into white school districts 60 years ago, it released the furies of white southern indignation. Eisenhower had to send the National Guard so a little girl could attend school in Little Rock. Governor George Wallace tried to physically block a school entrance being approached by black students. The times were changing but the guardians of Southern status quo could not cope or concede.

I’ve sensed a similar vibe with Attorney General Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott here in Texas of 2015. They would like to take arms against the onslaught of same-sex marriage and Obamacare. The "Sound and Fury" will proceed as it did before. Racism didn't end with judicial progress -- neither will homophobia or health care scare tactics.

OBAMACARE

I have a particular nit to pick about Obamacare. Given this situation – an 8 year old girl is diagnosed with a form of leukemia that is treatable but only with expensive, state-of-the-art medical equipment and drugs. It shouldn’t matter if the little girl is white and from University Park or black and from Oak Cliff. Even a “Rockefeller” Republican will concede that an uninsured girl should still get tax-funded treatment at a state-affiliated hospital.

Aye but there’s the rub. When we make it distant, vague and lacking specifics, Republicans have a smug certitude (based on history) that the girl at the county hospital will actually be given third-rate care. She may die in the waiting room with a four hour wait. She may finally see a less well-compensated, overbooked doctor who misdiagnoses her condition. Another doctor at the same hospital might despairingly give inadequate service knowing that expensive treatments are off-limits.

The “horrific” thing that Obamacare does is take vagueness out of the equation. The Oak Cliff girl will now have insurance that mandates an appointment with a “good” doctor in a non-emergency setting. No county hospital needed. If she needs $100K in high tech imaging, Blue Cross will pay for that as they would for any paying customer.

Part of giving people their dignity is telling them that their lives matter. Surviving leukemia shouldn’t be something that goes to the highest bidder like oil paintings at a Sotheby’s auction.

Symbols of racism coming down, gay people marrying and everyone getting quality medical care – what’s the world coming to?? Next we’ll have medical marijuana and animal rights. Conservatives everywhere – take a cue from Rush Limbaugh and find your OxyContin pain pills.

© 2015 Snillor Productions