Author Chuck Thompson Last week's book review of Chuck Thompson's Better Off Without 'Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession spurred the comment section into overdrive in a passionate discussion of the book's premise. During the past week, Thompson and I corresponded via email and I brought up many of the points that were made in comments. His responses are below. Additionally, he will be joining us live here in comments today to discuss his ideas'and Daily Kos user reactions and questions'further, so dive into comments and read (and ask!) away.
But before we get started on the give and take, back and forth, Thompson has a few things to say ....
Chuck Thompson (hereinafter CT): Before addressing the questions below, a few prefatory remarks to lend a bit of perspective.
1. There's nothing punitive behind my call for southern secession. Certainly nothing like an attack on Fort Sumter.
A large part of my book is intended to show how North and South have historically and still are operating as fundamentally different societies, with sharply contrasting agendas and values. My primary position is simply that a union based on such diametrically opposed approaches to societal organization is like a bad marriage that needs to end in order to save the children from turning into the same dysfunctional assholes as the parents.
2. Many if not most of the questions below are handled in more detailed and specific fashion in the book. I'll keep answers here relatively brief.
3. The official theme song for this interview is Phosphorescent's 'It's Hard To Be Humble (When You're From Alabama).' I'm cueing it up right now and suggest you do the same.
Okay, let's do this ...
= Susan Gardner (hereinafter SG): Can you give readers a very brief bullet-pointed outline of how a peaceful separation between the North and the South could work? (Continue reading below the fold)
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