The obligation to “honor” in terms of enlistment is nonpartisan in Southern culture insofar as it consists of the duty to save face for the nation more than an articulated political ideology. And such service often requires self-effacement and suffering as well as great pride. “How long were you in the service?” is a deeply respectful question, laden with admiration in the South. The person who decries militarism, and I am one of them, must understand that Southern notions of valor have a logic that sits outside of what we call “politics.” It’s all politics, of course. But you will talk past
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