Why can I write 'South' with some assurance that you'll know I mean Richmond and don't mean Phoenix? What is it that the South's boundaries enclose? John Shelton Reed assuranceboundaryenclose Change image and share on social
I don't think massification and globalization and all those other 'izations' are necessarily hostile to regionalism. John Shelton Reed globalizationhostileizations Change image and share on social
Southerners smile more than other Americans. John Shelton Reed americansmilesoutherner Change image and share on social
As long as there are Japanese tourists, there will be a market for the Old South. John Shelton Reed japaneselongmarket Change image and share on social
I think there's a suspicion in the South of people putting on airs. You see it in most successful Southern politicians, but you also see it in someone like Richard Petty, who may be a multimillionaire stock car driver, but he's also beloved because he has a nice self-deprecatory way about him. John Shelton Reed airbelovedcar share on social
I've occasionally wished I had Caller ID. Even telemarketers, I hate to hang up on them. I try to explain I'm not interested, but they have all these canned responses so I end up having to hang up on them anyway. John Shelton Reed callercannedend share on social
I can see why many Southerners, black ones in particular, don't like the implication that Southernness and the Confederate heritage are one and the same, because they're not. On the other hand, there are people who want to extirpate that completely and want folks to spit on the graves of their ancestors. John Shelton Reed ancestorblackcompletely share on social
Southerners are also like ethnic groups in that they have a sense of group identity. John Shelton Reed ethnicgroupidentity Change image and share on social
I do believe states' rights was a sound doctrine that got hijacked by some unsavory customers for a while - like, 150 years or so. I'm professionally obliged to believe that knowledge is better than ignorance, but some kinds of forgetting are OK with me. John Shelton Reed customerdoctrineforget share on social
But I still do believe that there are useful things to say about Elvis Presley, including what his own ordinariness as a poor Southerner says about 20th-century hero-making. John Shelton Reed 20thcenturyelvis Change image and share on social