So, after reviewing this thread, it seems to me that we are talking about three different topics and they are jumbled together.
1. What prompted my response to the original post in this thread was the insinuation that it is NATO's fault that Russia attacked Ukraine. Basically, that NATO is the aggressor and Russia is the one defending their territory.
Specifically you asked this
Do you support the South's effort as you support the countries that broke away from Russia?
Lees
My answer is that the countries did not break away from Russia. When the Soviet Union broke apart Russia willingly let the Soviet States gain their independence. Lithuania was the first Soviet Republic to gain its independence when on, July 27th 1991, the Russian government recognized the independence of Lithuania. The other former soviet republics started gaining independence and being recognized by Russia as independent countries.
I simply pointed out that the North never recognized the independence of the South in the way that Russia recognized the independence of the former soviet states. Therefore, comparison to the American Civil war is not applicable.
Also, the question has one issue. You act as though the South is still trying to gain independence from the north. To my knowledge, there is no active political movement from the Southern States to try and gain independence from the North. There may be a few fringe groups calling for the Southern States to secede but there is no organized mainstream movement. 99.9% of people in the South are happy being part of the United States.
2. You question the legality of the Civil War. You indicated that believe that the South had the right to secede from the Union and the north's actions were illegal.
After doing some reading over the weekend, it is clear that before the civil war there was a difference of opinion about the legality of a state seceding from the Union. Lincoln and the Union acted without legal precedent as there was no specific clause in the Constitution or Supreme Court Ruling either allowing or forbidding secession.
If the South had won the war then it would be a moot point. Just as when the colonies won the war against England. If you win, you are a hero, if you lose, you are a traitor.
The issue was resolved in 1869 when the Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal for a state to Secede from the Union in
Texas vs White.
And I apologize about saying Jefferson Davis skipped bail to go to Canada. He did go to Canada just after making bail. I got that part right. But was I didn't know was that he returned six months later to stand trial. A trial that never happened. It is clear that
Davis had a very good lawyer.
It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had the southern states went to the supreme court to get a ruling on the right to secede before firing shots at Fort Sumter. Anyone can say "I have a constitutional right" but when there is a disagreement, the Supreme Court is who makes the call.
3. The third topic is the southern culture. You said you don't believe I'm from and live in Alabama, which I very much am and do.
My contention is that Alabama (The south in general and much of the United States to a lessor extent) had a racist past as part of our culture. And that we need to let tha part of our culture die, instead of holding on to it like it is a good thing.
You seemed to take offense at that remark. All I can say is that I ashamed that the people of my state tried to bar someone from a State University based on skin color. had "whites only" restaurants and restrooms, and put attack dogs and fire hoses on people walking down the street in order to try and get equal treatment under the law. I'm ashamed that my home county had KKK rallies on the courthouse square and had a sign instructing "N@@gers" to leave before it got dark. BTW-the last KKK meeting I can find on record in the town I grew up in is 2007.
I stand by my remark. Forced segregation and racism has no place in our society. Neither does hate for Jews or Muslims or Athiest. All human beings are created in God's image and worthy of respect. That doesn't mean we have to agree with everyone or promote other people views. However, we should all be treated with dignity and respect.
All of us, no matter our skin color or nationality, are capable of hate, racism, and prejudice.