No condition, no government can destroy the will
among a few to be individualists.
among a few to be individualists.
— William Faulkner
Axios reports that many colleges will bring students back in the fall, just in time for a second—and worse—outbreak of Covid-19.
Among the schools that have announced they'll open in the fall are the University of Alabama, the University of North Carolina and Baylor.
No surprise here. Southerners have a long history of certitude, insurgency and self-defeating idiocy.
Scientists say the virus will be back in fall with a vengeance?
The scientists be damned!
Scientists say the virus will be back in fall with a vengeance?
The scientists be damned!
When a Southerner thinks he's right, by jiminy, he's right; so right, he'll ignore all the facts; so right, he'll take pride in his ignorance; so right, he'll turn on fellow Southerners—even at the price of defeat.
In September 1862, after a resounding victory outside Washington, General Robert E. Lee led 55,000 Southern troops toward the Potomac River, intent on marching into Maryland.
But when the troops reached the river's shore, one in five deserted, most saying they had not volunteered for an offensive war. Lee could lead where he wanted; they wouldn't follow.
The Rev. Joseph Stiles, a Confederate chaplain from Georgia, was an eyewitness to the desertions. Malcontents claimed "as a matter of prudence we should not leave our own soil; that it looked a little like an invasion." Firm of belief, "a large number hung back and would not cross the river."
But when the troops reached the river's shore, one in five deserted, most saying they had not volunteered for an offensive war. Lee could lead where he wanted; they wouldn't follow.
The Rev. Joseph Stiles, a Confederate chaplain from Georgia, was an eyewitness to the desertions. Malcontents claimed "as a matter of prudence we should not leave our own soil; that it looked a little like an invasion." Firm of belief, "a large number hung back and would not cross the river."
Two weeks later, Lee's army was walloped at Antietam.
No condition, no government, as Faulkner said, can deter individualists—even when they're being stupid.
No condition, no government, as Faulkner said, can deter individualists—even when they're being stupid.
