4 ways we're still fighting the Civil War

[alp227]

As the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of its deadliest war this week, some historians say we're still fighting over some of the same issues that fueled the Civil War.

"There are all of these weird parallels," says Stephanie McCurry, author of "Confederate Reckoning," a new book that examines why Southerners seceded and its effect on Southern women and slaves.

"When you hear charges today that the federal government is overreaching, and the idea that the Constitution recognized us as a league of sovereign states -- these were all part of the secessionist charges in 1860," she says.

These "weird parallels" go beyond the familiar debates over what caused the war, slavery or states' rights. They extend to issues that seem to have nothing to do with the Civil War.

The shutdown of the federal government, war in Libya, the furor over the new health care law and Guantanamo Bay -- all have tentacles that reach back to the Civil War, historians say.

They point to four parallels:

- The disappearance of the political center
- How much power should the federal government have?
- Unleashing the dogs of war
- The president as dictator

Full story: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/08/civil.war.today/index.html

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[Keith Bee]

2. I'm not commemorating shit!

Just another day, baby!

[GTurck]

4. It will be....

much harder for any "Southern" state to secede now. For one thing there are a good many "Yankees" living in the South who still have family, friends and emotional ties in the North. We have moved south for a good many reasons none of which have to do with accepting Southern thinking and prejudices. Another is that the South today is far more dependent on the rest of the country than it was 150 years ago. The integration of all the regions of the country means that any talk of secession is really a matter of blowing hot air into a furnace. Totally inane and undoable.
My favorite reason for no secession is sports..college and professional. The South is crazy for sports in a way that the North is not and not having teams to play would be more devastating than anything to their ideas of good times and quality of life. Yesterday Miami beat Boston in basketball but think of the same cities rivalry over football. Secession? Not until after the SUPER BOWL CCC.