The lodge and cabins at Lewis Mountain were designed by Marcellus Wright, who also designed the Big Meadows Lodge. Lewis Mountain was created as a separate lodging area for African-American guests in the 1940's. A decade later segragation would be abolished in the National Park although it would continue in the state of Virginia well into the 1960's.
SWAC Girl sent out the news that we had been challenged. A left-leaning blogger down in Richmond wanted to know if a certain beer made in Nelson County [which had just won a major taste competition] was any good. Not wanting to drive the two hours from Richmond to see for himself, he laid down the challenge for Conservative bloggers close to the brewery to go and "tell him if it was worth his while to go there himself."
We all politely declined. I opined that since 'Politics is Genetic' [click to read], his taste buds and mine were likely quite different. We were all inclined to put the matter to rest.
But a bigger question seemed to gnaw at the back of my consciousness... why does modern liberalism seem so adverse to the hard work of good old-fashioned research? I thought that was what 'higher education' was supposed to instill in you. Yet more often than not, serious scholarly works appear that simply pull out a tired old template and fill in the blanks. The Latest Obama Biography from David Remnick [click to read] does just that. Placing the 'Anointed One' squarely at the other side of Pettus Bridge as the fulfillment of the Civil Rights Movement.
The problem is this. The writer only wants to wade in deep enough to make Obama the tragic hero of America's racial drama. A drama that in modern liberal legend only has two chapters: Roots and the KennedyAdministration. It is left to Rush Limbaugh [who didn't go to college] and Glenn Beck to point out the great thought that took place at the time of our nation's beginnings: The wording of the Declaration of Independence changes the wording of earlier such declarations from 'property' to 'pursuit of happiness' precisely for the purpose of excluding slaveholding from the list of Divinely endowed rights. Also ignored are the civil-rights initiatives of the pre-Kennedy era. While Robert Byrd was wearing white robes and going to Klan rallys it was largely Republicans who were dismantling American Apartheid.
America's racial history is far from simple, but to those who would pull out the template, consider a few facts from modern history. The Left still bases much of its 'call to action' on the template that America is a 'racist' nation. That racism exists today is true, but you don't see it at tea parties. The American Right holds as its heroes men like Alan Keyes and packs out venues to hear him speak for Pregnancy Help Centers. Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell and Larry Elder are lauded for their intellectual contributions to the movement.
It is the Right, largely, that supports initiatives like the DC 'Opportunity Scholarships' [1.] that give disadvantaged children access to school choice. The Left is deeply committed to the 'one size fits all' public school that unfortunately limit educational opportunities for too many minority children.
It is the Right that sees opportunity for all in the American experiment. The Left seems bound to the notion that America creates a permenant underclass based on minority status. Thus we must create ever expanding government programs to redistribute the wealth.
It is the Right that sees innovation and freedom as the engine that produces new streams of prosperity. The Left sees a finite pool of resources and feels compelled to assert itself as the distributor of them. The Right senses that the best of human innovation is yet to be seen.
It is the Right that sees humanity for what it is and deals with sin. It is in free societies that history is allowed to point out the errors and outright atrocities. Massive Resistance, Lynchings, Jim Crow Laws and other dark chapters of our history are rightly remembered. The Left sees mankind as basically good but the institutions have not been perfected yet. To study the history of the movement though, the deaths of millions unter Stalin and other leaders is the price that must be paid. With no notion of sin, the carnage may actually be greater. Denial of one's Own Depravity [click to read] is a dangerous thing indeed.
History suggests that there is a better way. Our own history tells us of Ruby Beck [click to read] who, with her sister Lizzie, built a dream. During the height of segregation and Massive Resistance Ms. Beck convinced Alexandria bankers Burke and Herbert to loan her money to build a restaurant in Culpeper. She did it and was later honored as Virginia's 'Businesswoman of the Year.' Every school child in Virginia needs to know her story.
The Boxwood House in Culpeper, Virginia.
A Point of Contrast: George W. Bush's New Book
George W. Bush's Decision Points [click to read] should be interesting. Andrew Breitbart reports that is not your typical memoir but 'an account of key decisions' in his life. ht/SWAC Girl
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