The Influence of Antiquity on the South

In 1959, the Southern novelist Walker Percy wrote a scathing article in Commonweal describing one of the stranger realities of life in the South. He argued that the South was more indebted to Paganism than Christianity. Responding to a backlash against a New Orleans Catholic Archbishop’s pastoral letter calling segregation sinful, Percy pointed out the obvious contradiction of White Catholics defying Christian social teachings and staying silent on issues that deny the dignity of fellow Christian men. 

“The greatness of the South, like the greatness of the English squirearchy, had always a stronger Greek flavor than it ever had a Christian. Its nobility and graciousness was the nobility and graciousness of the old Stoa,” he writes. “We in the South can no longer afford the luxury of maintaining the Stoa beside the Christian edifice. In the past, we managed the remarkable feat of keeping both, one for living in, the other for dying in. But the Church is no longer content to perform rites of passage; she has entered the arena of the living and must be reckoned with.”

This accusation is hardly new. It is one of the oldest complaints launched against the Antebellum South since the founding of England’s colonies. Thomas Jefferson—though a conflicted deist and an Epicurean—was highly influenced by the philosophy of the ancient stoics, calling them “the higher thought of Western civilization: nobility of character, high ethical purpose, the ideal of self-sacrifice, belief in God and His divine providence, emphasis on virtue as the highest good and on action to make it effective, the need of bringing conduct into conformity with the law of Nature, and the realization of a high and stern sense of duty in public and private life.”

Lest we forget, Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty, or give me death" and Nathan Hale's "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" are both alleged paraphrases from Cato, a Tragedy, a popular 18th century play about the Roman Stoic Cato the Younger, who died fighting an oppressive empire lead by a cruel tyrant. 

🌊 In The Wake Of Helene Should Tennessee leaders be looking into the federal response to Hurricane Helene? State Representative Monty Fritts thinks so. “The priority of this recovery from the DC crowd is at best questionable, at worst damaging,” he said in an open letter released yesterday.

“Numerous reports allege that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been either absent from the area or restrictive of the civilian rescue/recovery efforts,” continued Fritts, who highlighted complaints about previous reallocation of FEMA funds to illegal aliens and Elon Musk’s claims that FEMA is interfering with assistance on the ground. 

According to a SpaceX engineer who reported to Musk assisting in North Carolina, “The big issue is FEMA is actively blocking shipments and seizing goods and services locally and locking them away to state they are their own.” The engineer also stated that new shipments of Starlinks, sent to provide cell service in areas cut off by the storm, would require an escort from the fire department going forward.

Musk has since addressed the issue of the FAA’s temporary flight restrictions interfering with Starlink delivery by reaching out to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "We were able to take care of it," Buttigieg told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. "I think, to me, it's an example of how often the best thing to do is just to pick up the phone."

“If reality on the ground even slightly resembles the reports it is unacceptable,” Fritts concluded.

🎥 Bad Faith State Senator Heidi Campbell invites you to join her this Thursday for a screening of “BAD FAITH: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy” at the Belcourt Theatre. The movie explores “how Christian nationalism has become the most powerful anti-democratic force in the USA, with an unparalleled ability to destroy democracy from within.” In an attempt to “defend the country from this march to fascism,” the film features “secular and interfaith leaders joining forces” to help unwitting Americans understand this existential threat.

Co-hosted by Campbell and ChangeTN, the screening will be followed by a panel discussion with investigative journalist Anne Nelson, who is featured in the film, author and Professor of Theology at Belmont University David Dark, and member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates Anna Caudill. To attend, you can sign up here.

🏡 Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wife According to a study conducted by Simmrin Law Group, Tennessee is the fifth most dangerous state in the country. The firm—headed by Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Michael Simmrin—examined crime statistics from the FBI and National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), assigning weight across ten critical crime types to identify the safest and most dangerous states.

The study highlighted the Volunteer State’s high assault rate of 1978.3, and homicide rate of 10.9 per 100,000 residents. New Mexico ranks as the most dangerous state, and struggles with the nation’s highest kidnapping rate, excessive vandalism, and a sex offense rate of 129.4 per 100,000. The safest state identified is New Jersey. You can read the full study here.

INFILL DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT

• Local builder eyes redevelopment of Christie Cookie's Germantown headquarters (NBJ)
• Pizza joint planned for East; M.L.Rose opens sixth location (NBJ)
• Germantown site eyed for mixed-use development (Post)
• Multi-building project slated for Bordeaux (Post)

✹ THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (October 8th)

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Starz) So many 2024 movies should have been blockbuster hits, but Guy Ritchie’s hyperstylized take on the recently declassified WWII missions of a secret team of criminals and rogues that Churchill handpicked deserved far better than its middling theatrical run last spring. With Ritchie’s trademark machismo ensemble cast that includes Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, Cary Elwes, and Alan Ritchson, it’s the best of its kind since Inglourious Basterds.

The Twilight Zone (Prime and Paramount+) Halloween is the perfect time to revisit Rod Serling’s trailblazing network sci-fi series that used allegory to take on everything from WWII combat trauma to McCarthyism. The gremlin on the plane wing freaking out William Shatner, the aliens invading suburbia, the plastic surgeons with pig snouts—it’s all here. 

Psycho (Netflix) Hitchcock’s most influential film hits America’s #1 streamer just in time for October viewing. More than sixty years after its release, its shock value  still rivals everything made in its wake. 

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

✨ Homeshake @ The Blue Room, 7p, $28.47, Info
+ bedroom pop

🎸John Moreland @ The Basement East, 8p, $34.93, Info
+ folk rock

🎸 Cannons @ Marathon Music Works, 8p, $42.52+, Info

🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p

🎸 Free Tuesday Shows with Anthony Wilkerson @ The Underdog, 9:30p, Free, Info

🎺 Todd Day Wait @ The Underdog, 11:30p, Free, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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