As a Southerner, the statements made in Zach Miller’s column “Is the South really dumber than the rest of the country?” (Oct. 15, pg. 7) grossly offended me. I wonder why someone from the South would make such sweeping statements about the residents of his own area of the country.
Surely Mr. Miller realizes that not everyone in the South is a Judge Moore or a Bible-thumping wacko. The South is not a wild, uneducated area corrupt with nepotism and constitutional sidestepping. People of many different ethnicities, religions and opinions live there. The fact they are not of large, urban populations does not make their opinions any less valuable or their views any less varied.
I do not agree with Judge Moore’s actions, and I do not agree with the people who shout aloud to place the Ten Commandments in courtrooms and schools. I do, however, believe they have the right to express their opinions. Mr. Miller’s blatant assumption that the people protesting are foolish and futile demonstrates a lack of faith in the right of citizen participation and the Constitution.
Further more, the opinions of a small group of people on the steps of the Alabama State Supreme Court are not those of everyone south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The constant berating of the South by those all over the country only aggravates these absurd assumptions. Mr. Miller only seems to be perpetuating these stereotypes and as a Southerner, I am very disappointed.
Mr. Miller needs to go home and rediscover what the South is really about.
K. Alison Brotzge COM ’05
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