I think of an amended form of the old t-shirt that said "American by
birth, Southern by the grace of God" to "Southern by birth; Virginian
by the grace of God." It brings to mind the articles in the past few
days about R.E.Lee on his 200th birthday, and when he was offered
command of the Union armies, he declined, saying he could never fight
against "his country", Virginia. Not his state, his country. It's a
deep and mysterious thing that probably baffles (or amuses) non-
native Virginians.
You've heard the joke about how North Carolinians describe their fair
state? "A vale of humility between two mountains of conceit." (Va.
and SC)
Or the old Civil War era joke, a grandmother is teaching her son how
to be a proper Virginia gentleman. "Son," she says, "never ask a man
if he's from Virginia. If he is, he'll tell you soon enough. If he's
not, you don't want to embarrass him."
If an Irish American or African American or Vietnamese American or
plain old American, if they've been here one generation or 20, is
eager to work and contribute to this country, and if necessary fight
or die for it, to me that's more important than what terminology they
use to describe themselves.
Nancy
-------
I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.
--Daniel Boone
On Jan 21, 2007, at 4:46 PM, David Kiracofe wrote:
> I like to think of myself, in all thinks, as first and foremost, a
> Virginian.
>
> David Kiracofe
>
> David Kiracofe
> History
> Tidewater Community College
> Chesapeake Campus
> 1428 Cedar Road
> Chesapeake, Virginia 23322
> 757-822-5136
>>>> Excalibur131 <[log in to unmask]> 01/21/07 4:00 PM >>>
> Thank you, Clara. I too am a proud, un-hyphenated, adjective-free
> American
> with Virginia ancestors who came to this continent from Europe.
>
> The root is that we, you and I, are Americans. Not black, not
> white, not
>
> African-, not European-Americans, we are Americans. I was born in this
> great
> country, am proud of it, and proud to be called an American. I would
> like to
> think that all people born in the United States of America feel this
> way.
> Sadly, there are many, many people that do not.
>
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