Essay on "Not in Memoriam, But in Defense"
by Robert W. Watson
(17 November 2001)

Even though he never embraced the cause of Southern Agrarianism as envisioned by Donald Davidson and Allen Tate, Stark Young had a close relationship with both men and admired them greatly as they did him. Like Robert Penn Warren, Young had become comfortable with Northern living after having an earlier jaunt with academia in the South. It was after he moved North, when as a professor of English at Amherst College, that Young decided to become a free-lance writer for the theatre. No one can accuse Young of not being a prolific writer. In thirty years, Young managed to write over eight hundred articles for magazines like Theatre Arts Magazine, the New Republic, and the New York Times. Young also wrote many books about drama and modern theatre, but most of these works are now out of print.

Not only did he translate the plays of Anton Chekhov, Young wrote an autobiography, The Pavilion: People and Times Remembered and a novel, So Red the Rose. In spite of the fact that the literary establishment rewarded him for his not acting like Donald Davidson, Young had a deep love for the South, and this love is clearly manifested in his Pavilion and So Red the Rose. Because of this love and his believing that art was not an end in itself or the mere product to enrich the so-called artist, Stark Young finds himself participating with the Agrarians of I'll Take My Stand. According to Young, the purpose of art was "to recreate, emphasize, mold and perpetuate the qualities of its society." For Young, that society was the South, regardless where he chose to live.

In his essay, "Not in Memoriam, But in Defense," Young suggests that there is no need to hold a funeral service for the South, for such things belong to the dead. Only the living needs to be defended. However, not being the reactionary like Davidson or Tate, Young concedes that he would not care to return to the past, finding it to be perhaps "intolerable." On the other hand, he admits if Southerners should completely abandon their culture, they would be foolish. According to Young, while it is true that life has been made more convenient, we should try to accommodate these "advances" so long as they do not conflict with our character. Yet with the introduction of these "good" things is the potential loss of other good things, things that have been established not by progress, but by culture and nurturing. Thus, we begin to play with fire, which can comfort us, or it can destroy us.

The South needs to be defended, because it was not created by theory, but by the common experiences of the hopes and desires of a people who built a practical civilisation. As it is expressed so well by the Lord Jesus Christ, a disciple cannot rise above his master; so it is also true that a citizen cannot rise above his civilisation. If the society is based on the love of money, then all aspects of life--religion, education, and politics--will reflect greed, deceit, and competition. Biblical Christianity has never flourished in an urban or industrialised society, which has the propensity towards centralisation and efficiency. The reason is elementary: the antithesis of loving God is loving money, and a money-based economy spells doom to a Christianity that has any meaning. However, at one time the Southern way of life did not succumb to the mood of these competitive times, but promoted a civilisation based on family and the land, the only basis for patriotism, which is never a blind loyalty to government gone mad.

Young reminds us Southerners that we are not alone in our struggle to maintain a mature culture. Hundreds of small towns throughout the North and West enjoy a sense of community that is threatened by industrialism just as much as those in the South. In addition to these small towns, many ethic groups in the larger cities try to maintain a unique culture that are similar to the Southern values of extended families, parental leadership, and cultural pride. These enclaves of ethnocentricity are viewed by the elite with as much suspicion as a Confederate holding a battle flag. Indeed, Southerners do not maintain certain qualities because "they belong to the South, but because the South belongs to them." There are certain qualities that are shared by all people who desire a gentle and peaceful life.

Expanding his theme that a citizen is no better than his society, Young makes the nice point that the teaching of or even the forcing of morality is not the same as the genuine expression of one's mores. The former is external; the latter, internal. When a Southerner says "Yes sir" or "No ma'am," the outsider perceives an affected politeness. However, these expressions are sincere, because the Southerner believes that the human being (indeed life itself) is worthy of respect. The mood of these times with its "what's-in-it-for-me" mentality destroys manners, because no one is thought to be worthy of more respect than the alienated egoist. The governmental educational system can only manage to produce mediocre human resources to fill the available positions in the government, the corporations, and the military. It is incapable of producing a single lady or gentleman. Thus, the worst thing that the common schools have done is to eradicate the genteel class, which is the guardian of a culture. The gentry provided leadership, not by flattering the masses in order to exploit them, but by example and irreproachable conduct. It is part of the Southern psyche that the superior leads by example, not by force. One who is in the superior position does not belittle or denigrate his inferiors. It is always the inferior soul who tries to bring down to his level the superior soul, be it morally, physically, or mentally superior.

With the lost of the Southern gentry, the South was at the mercy of extreme boorishness spawned by democracy and progress. Fortunately, good manners and genteel conduct survive even after all these years. Unlike so many who cannot express their displeasure without the use of four-letter words, a Southerner can insult his opponent without being insulting. Of course this gracefulness is a result of observing the examples of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul. Whether condemning modern Pharisees as "blind leaders leading the blind," or assigning an Alexander the coppersmith to damnation by asking the Lord to "reward him according to his merit," a Southerner can gently rebuke his opponents without being vulgar. Or as a Southern lady said of a well-known millionaire during her time, "I don't care. He may have three hundred millions, but he's nothing but trash after all." Here is a soul who did not measure a life or any perceived success by dollars and cents.

The issue has always been one of low character. The relentless demonising of the South as racist, ignorant, crude, and barbaric is lodged by lazy, petty egoists whose littleness prohibits their considering the feelings of others. In his urbanised society, the ugly American can only rise as high as his love of money can take him. Unable to attain the loftier heights of the Southern tradition, the average servant under the American empire must belittle the ideals of Dixie. Like Calvin Coolidge, who replied, when asked how he was enjoying his stay in Texas after he sat down for breakfast, "I thought we had come here to eat," every egoistic boor will mistake a Southerner's genuine wish to have a conversation as an inconvenient annoyance. While some may think Coolidge's remark reflected his honesty and simplicity, to a Southerner it only demonstrated a rudeness of the baser sort.

As Southerners, we have contented ourselves that we do not require every man to agree with us. After all, as unique souls, everyone may be enlightened on different levels of understanding. On the other hand, we do request that others will allow us to think for ourselves, whether we are right or wrong. There is however the constant temptation to coerce the millions of slaves in the empire to throw off their chains and rebel against their masters in the industrial-governmental cartel. But when the temptation declares itself, we realise that such is not our way. To do so would be acting like Yankees or fascists. We Southerners choose to act like Christians. Our reliance on nature's God has allowed us to be exploited, this is true, but we are certain that through patience we shall be vindicated. Indeed, the Southern way of life has been vindicated repeatedly during the past 140 years, but the empire has no eyes to see, nor ears to hear.

What then does the Southern way of life have that is absent in the urbanised complexes throughout the empire? In a word, the South has maturity. Only adolescents are compelled to be always "doing something." A city may boast that it has thousands of miles of sidewalks. But where do they lead to? What virtue is there to know that one's city never sleeps? Young states, "What we love is the idea of fortunes, heads of corporations, adventures in competition and material development. Boyish fancy and empty pursuit like that has its lovable side, though it is a little less lovable and heartening when we see the average man produced by it." What "progress" has accomplished is a devolution of man to a laboratory rat. At least early man could rely on his physical strength and had a respect and awe for the unknown in nature and the cosmos. Today, the American is too anxious, too busy, too fat, too concerned about things that are not his business, and too intelligent to realise that he is a fool. Yep, you've come a long way, baby.

Young concludes his essay by pointing out that any change must use materials that currently exist and does not appear ex nihilo. According to Young, as the South becomes more industrialised, it will still retain much of its Southern tradition. Perhaps, if Southerners have an input into determining their own society. But unfortunately this has not been the case. Most of the capital that is behind the construction of malls, expansion plants, and other enterprises come from outside Dixie. With the capital comes the modern nomads who set up their households and become irritated by not being able to buy liquor by the drink in their county. They complain about and criticise their non-progressive neighbours and wonder how anybody could be so stupid. Soon there are enough nomads to make the tranquil community into the image of the inequity that they just left. But, frankly, the nomads do not care, because they do not have any roots. As soon as they can, they leave "Hicksville" to chase the dollar to another place.

It has been over seventy years since the publication of I'll Take My Stand, and the South has indeed seen a lot of change, some for the better, some for the worse. The essays are circumspect, because in 1930, liberation of the South from the empire was perceived not as an option. However, dozens of nations since that time have become independent, many who have been under occupation for many years. A free and independent Southland is not only a viable option today, it is the only logical solution for solving the host of moral, economic, and political problems faced by the South. Empires like the United States of America are incapable of reformation; they must experience a dissolution.

I shall speak boldly, knowing that plain talk is not popular, but Confederates must become very serious about independence and stop playing games. The Southern people must restore three things if we hope to enjoy any status as free men. First, the Southern people must restore a Biblical Christianity that is uniquely a Southern religion. The major denominations are anti-Southern as well as anti-Biblical. Any Southerner who remains in a United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), or Southern Baptist Church is a traitor to his faith and to his culture. Where do your loyalties lie? To a man-made organisation or to the Bible? Especially avoid any church that preaches a gospel of success. Something good may not happen to you today. More than likely something bad is certain to happen. The Biblical admonition is always separate from wickedness. Don't try to reform your preacher or your church. Leave and meet with folks who believe in the Bible as the word of God and in the worthiness of your Southern culture as the best hope for mankind. If you can't find a church with these views, then have two or three families of like precious faith meet at your house for fellowship and worship. We Southerners may have to rely on lay preachers at first, but eventually Confederate theological colleges can be established.

Equally important with a restoration of a Southern religion is a Southern way to educate. To allow the enemy to indoctrinate our children is nothing short of criminal. An effective Southern system of education will require more details than what are provided here; however, the following is a brief outline. All Confederates should first educate their own children at home until the student is 14 years old. At this point the student has three choices: continue his education at home, go to a Southern academy with studies in Bible, history, moral philosophy, rhetoric, literature, and the fine arts, or attend a technical institute with studies in math, science, agriculture, and a cursory acquaintance with literature and history. The academy student will be prepared for a liberal arts college to become a statesman, a professor, a preacher, a musician, or an artist. The institute student will be prepared to get a job in business or agriculture in two years or to attend a college in four to become a doctor, engineer, or any other technical trade. The essence of a Southern way of education will be to create a gentry class among the academy students with a skilled but educated workforce.

In addition to a restoration of a Southern religion and a Southern education, there must be a restoration of a Southern political party that represents Southern values, which includes limited government and Biblical morality. For any Confederate to contribute to, to participate with, or to vote for either the Republicans or the Democrats is pure lunacy. Both parties are progressive and anti-Southern. Perhaps the "bewildered herd" has the luxury to vote for the lesser of two evils, but Christian Confederates do not. We are to submit to the principles found in the Bible, and we have the duty to learn about the issues and apply what we know from history and the Bible to those issues. Regardless whether Daddy, Pawpa, and Grandpawpa voted Democratic, it is high time for Confederates to start voting Christian. There exists several Southern political parties already established. Some include the Southern Party, the Southern Party of Georgia, the Southern Independence Party of Kentucky, the Southern Independence Party of Tennessee, and the Southern Party of North Carolina. For those who live in Alaska, there in the Alaskan Independence Party.

Stark Young ponders, "It all comes down to the most practical of all points--what is the end of the living?" What is the end indeed. We all know that we will die someday. The dying is easy. What is difficult is living. Therefore, is it too much to ask that we live our days as pleasantly as possible, as free men, and not as "acceptable losses" or as "collateral damage"? The Agrarians gave us much to think about. It is up to the living to begin to live like we have a holy mission to accomplish in our three score and ten years. Like the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be about our Father's business. May God save the South.