Where We Stand: Voices of Southern Dissent

The white southern liberals showcased in this collection of essays occupy a difficult position. They see themselves as an embattled and alienated minority in a hostile sea of reactionaries, and also as a group uniquely positioned to comment on the growing influence of fundamentalist Christian right-wing politics in the rest of the country. Few of the writers offer concrete tips on how to navigate this now national phenomenon; however, they make clear their opposition through attacks on Bush administration policies and incisive critiques on American poverty, inequality and racism--issues that ever plague the South and which, the contributors say, conservatives persistently ignore or exploit. Paul Gaston, for example, discusses the decline of the utopian Alabama community founded by his high-minded, progressive grandfather into a well-heeled, conservative resort town. Susan Ford Wiltshire meditates on the untenable divide between Christian liberals, for whom religion is an inspiration for activism, and Christian conservatives, who use religious tenets, she says, as a means to restrict and repress. Sheldon Hackney's essay on white southerners as the nation's original and most militant practitioners of identity politics offers especial insight into the social and historical background behind the peculiar politics of Dixie. While some essays flounder in their effort to draw out local flavor (like environmentalist Janisse Ray's rail against Wal-Mart, which devolves into a schmaltzy appreciation of southern charm), most uncover the telling political dichotomies of southern living. Foreword by Jimmy Carter not seen by PW.