Jim Webb’s Born Fighting made it to TV tonight on the Smithsonian Channel. Webb traces the history of the Scots Irish in this country. They are the people who settled past the mountains, past where the landed gentry lived. The Scots-Irish were the protestants who came from Ireland and really very little has been written about them as an immigration group.
Dave “Mudcat” Saunders, in the Huffington Post contributed the following that might explain much about our present day politics:
Born Fighting Reveals the Invisible Ink on the Pages of American History
As a Southern Democratic political operative and Scots-Irish hillbilly, I’ve been asked the same question a thousand times in a thousand different ways. In the summer of 2006, the question was condescendingly thrown at me by a sitting U.S. Senator in a luncheon buffet line at a Senate Democratic Caucus retreat. She asked, “How can your people in the South be so ignorant to go against their own economic self-interests and vote Republican?” Huh? I remember thinking that surely, in the name of Jesus, this woman (Senator or not) didn’t call my people “ignorant”.
Since I had been invited to the retreat by Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, two guys I personally like, I was all cleaned up and on my very best behavior. But candidly, I still had to lock up every brake in my soul to not respond to her question with a bombardment of backwoods, “By God”, profanity. Somewhat to my own surprise, I overcame the urge and answered, “Has it ever crossed your mind that it might not be ignorance, but instead, a more powerful force called culture?”
I told the Senator that was the short answer, but if she wanted the long answer she should read Jim Webb’s book, Born Fighting. Read it with attentiveness, I said, and added that she would be shocked by the immense role that culture plays in the lives, faith and politics of the least known of American ethnicities, the Scots-Irish. I was thinking she might possibly gain some understanding that dismissing the power of the Scots-Irish culture is the Democrats’ “glass jaw” in electoral outcomes. There are, after all, huge Scots-Irish voting blocs throughout the South and much of rural America.
Since Webb, the Jacksonian Populist, was better than 30 points behind George Allen when I told this Senator about the book, I doubt it made her top 100 books to read. But come this Sunday night, April 10, she will be able to sit back for two hours, watch it, and be entertained. Most importantly, she can be educated.
The documentary version of Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America premieres on the Smithsonian Channel at 9:00 P.M. ET/PT, or as Webb would say, “2100 Hours”. Narrated by Senator Webb, Born Fighting is in no way a political documentary. Other than mentioning that Andrew Jackson introduced his strong brand of Scots-Irish populism to the American political stage, the film is rightly devoid of politics. The documentary is about educating America on a non-talked about ethnicity which has made an overwhelming impact on the building, defense and arts of this nation. In Born Fighting, Webb traces his ancestors’ paths from the shadow of Hadrian’s Wall to Scottish battlefields like Stirling (the place where Mel Gibson and the boys mooned the British in Braveheart), then on to the Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland, and from there, to the Appalachian Mountains and points beyond on the American frontier.
Unfortunately, prior to the release of Webb’s book in 2004, the contributions of the Scots-Irish — as a people — had been invisible ink on the pages of American History. Born Fighting, the documentary, is not only a fascinating history of the near-continuous plight of the Scots-Irish, but just as important to modern day electoral politics, the passing from generation-to-generation of the powerful Scots-Irish ethos, which Webb aptly characterizes as “FIGHT, SING, DRINK, PRAY”. In reality, my word “powerful” does not do justice to the influence of Scots-Irish culture at the ballot box.
Mike Murphy, who for my money is the best Republican operative in America, said, “Democrats go after class. Republicans go after culture.” Clearly, election results throughout the Scots-Irish South prove Murphy’s words — emphasis on culture is the only proven strategy. What is totally baffling is Democrats could go after the South and rural America with Scots-Irish Jacksonian Populism and add big numbers while not alienating their current cultural and economic base. Honestly, I don’t understand how any native Southerner could keep from embracing — as Webb described in 2004 — the Scots-Irish cultural “tendency toward egalitarian traditions.”
As I said before, Born Fighting is an educational documentary. But at the same time, there is no denying that cultural education leads to cultural understanding, and cultural understanding leads to political victories.
If you’re Scots-Irish, you’ve got to watch it. If you’re interested in Southern and rural politics, you need to watch it. Besides enjoying it, you’ll get a lot of answers concerning electoral result maps. And the answers all lie in the culture.
Hopefully everyone will get to see this informative bit of history or will be able to read Webb’s book. The program airs again tomorrow evening on the Smithsonian Channel from 8-10 pm.
Might there be a wee dram of Scots-Irish blood in the author of this thread? Scots what hae for Wallace bled…
Do you mean Jim Webb, Dave ‘Mudcat’ Saunders, or me because I put it up?
The first two definitely have a lot of Scots-Irish. Not sure about me. I always heard that we were but I think think that side was actually straight English.
I watched the show and then read the article…in that order. I think the order makes somewhat of a difference.
It is on TV tonight at 8. Smithsonian Channel. Wolverine how do you stand not having a TV? You miss so many great shows.
My mother always told me that my father was Scots-Irish. Unfortunately, that chain in my family kudzu stops with my great-great Grandfather, who, unlike the other Scots-Irish to Mississippi who came south, apparently came by boat and stayed in MS. He was apparently born in Massachusetts.
So, no Scots-Irish for me. Darn.
But I do identify with their culture!
Did you watch Born Fighting, Cargo?
I might watch it again if I have free space on the DVR. Sunday night is a busy TV night. Something new coming up on HBO next week on Sunday.
My friend whom you met at the Howler Meet up is strongly scots-irish. Good WVA girl. Strange that where your ancestors settled seems to be the biggest ancestoral hint. My mother’s people were east of the Blue Ridge which I think indicates that they were English rather than being Scots-Irish, despite what my mother said.
I missed it. GG-granddad moved to the frontier and married in 1829, supposedly. No firm evidence. Now, we did find a Army enlistment from New York under his name and with identical birth information from 1826. However, that person deserted four months later. Ol’ Daniel told census workers a different story each time they came around but his obit says that he was born in Marblehead, MA, in 1806 and that he went to sea at the age of 15 or sixteen.
Watch it tonight at 8 on Smithsonian. It is a 2 hour show.
re webb movie
Do you suppose that the Smithsonian channel gets govt subsidies? Will that be the next target?
Don’t know.
Don’t care.
We don’t have the money for the subsidy if there is one. If we want to keep that subsidy, we need to cut something else.
We need to get back to bare bones and see what needs to be structurally changed.
Apparently we don’t get the Smithsonian channel. Sorry I couldn’t watch it. Maybe it’ll come on the History channel.
As I understand it, the Smithsonian gets about 2/3 of its standard operating budget from appropriations in the federal budget. It tries to make up the remainder through donations and private partner relationships. Many term-limited Smithsonian exhibits, for example, are funded by private foundations or other groups — sometimes a problem because the private partners may want to display things which are deemed as insulting or demeaning by others. The Smithsonian Channel was started by the Smithsonian as an additional device to draw in more donations and private partnerships. So, rather than being a drain on the federal budget, it looks to me like a device to try to cut somewhat dependence on that budget. Not a bad idea.
Looks like it will air again on 4/15 starting at 8:00PM
@Wolverine
That’s thinking outside the box.