The South Despised Again

In the 1950s and 60s Southern members of Congress were seen as the antithesis of progress. Strom Thurmond still has the record for having the longest filibuster in the history of the Senate. What was he so passionate about that he wanted to hold up the progress of the Senate and stop the business of the government in its' stacks? It seems that Mr. Thurmond wanted to stop the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights bill. He spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes, longer than any other Senator before and after. Why, because he thought that equality was against the fabric of the nation and that equality for the negro would upset the culture and traditions of the South. Mr. Thurmond did everything to keep that bill from passing . During his filibuster he did not give profound speeches but used delaying tactics like reading from the phone book or reading the newspaper. Why, because progress was against the fabric of the nation. Many Americans thought that this type of ignorance and bigotry had left the south when Jimmy Carter became president. But guess what? It is back with a vengeance.
Senators like Alabama's Richard Shelby are out to make sure that the progress and hope promised by the Obama administration dies in it's tracks. These southern gentlemen have dogged health care reform from the start with no alternatives or compromise just rhetoric and contempt.
There are a number of good people from the south, I happen to be one of them, but we must all band together like we did in the 50s and 60s to thwart the efforts of men like Richard Shelby to destroy the progression of this nation. To paraphrase Winston Churchill. We shall fight them in the streets ( through protest and demonstration), we shall fight them in the press, we shall fight them on the floor of the House and Senate. We shall never give up until this nation is what it says it is a government of the people, for the people and by the people.