Reply #17: Don't you just love Southern Gothic literature? I do.

[sspiderjohn]

And don't forget Tennessee Williams. Or "Gone With The Wind". I love the "educated" or "upper class" Southern drawl -- just melts the ear. And our colorful politicians like Huey Long and Big Jim Folsom . . . Or how about the movie, "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" with its wonderful traditional Southern folk music? And the Mississippi Delta Blues?

Of course I'm not proud of slavery and prejudice -- I'm not proud of the Civil War or the KKK -- I'm not particularly big on redneck and Nascar -- but there's a lot to Southern culture that is worth preserving.