Southerners and the Seven Deadly Sins

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis, who since November 2008 has written about the culinary and cultural aspects of the Fort Smith/Van Buren region, continues to write for The City Wire from his new address in Austin, Texas. As he did with his previous delicious essays, Peter humbly attempts to move beyond the conventional and expose, entertain and enthuse. If anything Peter proffers in this space results in the expansion of cultural awareness of the world around us, we apologize in advance.

The folks over at Oxford tell us that “culture” is a certain quality in people. It is not something innate within humans, nor is it constant. Oxford goes on to inform us this distinctly human characteristic commences out of concern for excellence, perceived as it may be, in the “finer” sides of life. This definition of culture ranges from highly refined manners to versed excellence in humanities.

There is nothing wrong with this definition. It functions as it should, an exact explanation to a relative and abstract concept.

Interpretation (and/or criticism) of what constitutes culture can be a bear. It is constantly shape-shifting, there is perpetual evolution. What was once disdained can posthumously attain fame and be viewed in high regard. Certainly it can be a difficult path to navigate.

As southerners, we reside in a distinct society. Our cultural identity is both a crown of thorns and a badge of honor. We exist in a world apart. Though this identity may be evaporating in a world of expanding connectedness, the residue is there. While this slow loss of separation may continue to integrate our lives with those in the rest of America, our story is still unique.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS
This realization found physical manifestation in a study by geographers at Kansas State University. Their query was a physical mapping of the Seven Deadly Sins in America. Spatially, it is a marvel. As you can see in the screen shots from the study, the stratification of sins across our land is arresting.

Gluttony is most profound in the sparsely populated lands of west Texas, while envy is pockmarked across the south in especially downtrodden areas like the Delta. Lust and wrath have a significant presence in the southern states, yet greed and sloth have virtually no presence whatsoever. These six, in conjunction with the vast prevalence of pride, the root of all sin, serve to portray a unique vision of not only the state of Arkansas, but the south in general.

Though data from this study can be skewed to portray us as a backward land, it is a valuable look at life. Centers of greed are concentrated around larger metropolitan centers, areas driven to an untouchable realm of “success” and in constant view of what the neighbor may have. While much of the land is stuck in that middle ground, the disproportionate nature of life in the “big city” is in stark contrast. And nowhere is life on more “equal” footing than in the south, a lingering testimony to the natural camaraderie, perhaps.

If I were to take exception to one sin, it would be lust. While an analysis of wrath in an area logically takes the number of violent crimes per capita, something as mercurial as “lust” suffers from sub par parameters. To arrive at their analysis, the geographers took the number of sexually transmitted diseases per capita. Within these parameters, this seems to be an indicator of ignorance more than uncontrollable passions. And though this is by no means an adequate definition of “lust,” a better method escapes me (If anything, this seems to give credence to those progressive folks wishing to have more sexual education in schools). In my mind, however, it does serve to further illustrate the intriguing positioning of propriety within southern society.

There has always been a fascination with the south, not only in the north (or the rest of America), but throughout the rest of the world. Backward as we may be, the south shaped the face of popular music and bore the most unique literary voices in our nation. If nothing else, it is this dichotomy that perpetuates this artistic brilliance. If I may misappropriate George C. Scott’s line in Patton, the south is “a mix of Old Testament and Hollywood.”

Diversely sinful as it is pious, the south is a stewing pot of contradictions and paradoxes; in essence, a literal breeding ground for the unique manifestations of culture, in all its various forms.

YOUR THREE LINKS TO LIFE
• The adage suggests that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that truly is the case, there are some wonderful bands flattering the hell out of the south. One of the best I’ve heard in quite some time are Delta Spirit.

Discovering new culture can be a disconcerting process. With the Internet and the thousands of blogs available for consumption, this discovery can be as overwhelming as it is revelatory. Though I am a bit anachronistic, I attempt to stay abreast of the evolving scene. In this regard, the distinctly pioneering Web site, La Blogotheque, is one of my favorites. Since the blog is in French, most folks, unfortunately, will most likely be unable to derive much from the site beyond their great “take away” videos (significant portions of the site are translated to English from time to time, however). These “take away” videos are intimate sessions with musicians. Initially, they were always filmed in the streets and quaint cafes in and around Paris. From time to time, the directors of this series of videos venture across the pond. This particular link is to videos of Delta Spirit playing in San Francisco’s famed cable cars, a rug store and a park.

• For yet another eloquent example of why the 80s needed to turn into the 90s as fast as possible, check out this montage of video dating interviews. If there happen to be any Cleveland Browns fans around, they’ll be lucky enough to land the greatest pickup line of all-time: “I like wearing brights socks and am an avid Cleveland Browns fan.”

• And finally, Kanye has something he’d like to say to everyone.

Pushback
There is no guarantee that he’ll respond or care, but feel free to send Mr. Lewis your thoughts at [email protected]

You can also track Peter at his Twitter site.