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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