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
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
Barbecue is the third rail of North Carolina politics. John Shelton Reed barbecuecarolinanorth Change image and share on social
Maybe we've been brainwashed by 130 years of Yankee history, but Southern identity now has more to do with food, accents, manners, music than the Confederate past. It's something that's open to both races, a variety of ethnic groups and people who move here. John Shelton Reed accentbrainwashconfederate 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
We could say that people who eat grits, listen to country music, follow stock-car racing, support corporal punishment in the schools, hunt 'possum, go to Baptist churches and prefer bourbon to Scotch are likely to be Southerners. John Shelton Reed baptistbourboncar share on social
Southern barbecue is the closest thing we have in the U.S. to Europe's wines or cheeses; drive a hundred miles and the barbecue changes. John Shelton Reed barbecuecheeseclose Change image and 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
Dixie has just fallen to pieces. There are little patches of Dixie. But even in the heart of Dixie - in Alabama - Dixie is slipping. They've stopped using the word in commercial listings. John Shelton Reed alabamacommercialdixie Change image and share on social
