Neo-McCarthyism: Totally Tenacious Commentary From A Tall Guy

Balance & Memory

Steve Spurrier’s recent comments regarding the Confederate flag and its place on the State House grounds have brought an issue wrought with controversy and one undeniably South Carolinian in nature off of the backburner. And though there has been no shortage of discussion among civilians, journalists, politicians and public figures, the fact remains that the stances of many who are speaking out, including our football coach, are alarmingly polarizing.
Leave it up. Take it down.
There’s no middle ground.
And herein lies the heart of a problem that could be solved with relative ease by considering two things that cannot be separated when tackling such an emotionally charged issue — memory and balance.
The first thing to realize is the Confederate flag will remain on the State House grounds. But it will not fly. It will remain a part of the memorial — framed, in glass …. something.
But to continue to fly it atop the memorial is, at its core, anti-American.
This way promotes balance and preserves the memory of many sides of our Civil War, not the least of which are those that are pain-laden and ancestral.
And let’s be honest. Only one flag represents this country and everyone in it in the truest sense, and it has 50 stars and 13 stripes.

Traveling Travesties

What the funk is going on with basketball these days? How many steps can one guy take before shooting or passing the ball?
I don’t know about the ladies, because I’ll admit that I don’t watch women’s basketball, but the two-step rule has been given the boot by referees in men’s college hoops and the NBA. I saw the point guard from Memphis walk about eight times during the tournament, none of which were called. They might as well abandon that whole dribbling thing as well.

SEAson Change

I gotta say — after watching Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and taking a look around at some of the stories about wacky weather all over this country, I’m a little worried. Since when do people living in parts of the Midwest and Northeast get a foot of snow dumped on them in the middle of April? I used to live in Chicago and Cleveland, and I remember playing baseball, not talking about building a dome to ensure that it can, in fact, be played.
We’ve all got to jump on the green, hydro-solar-biodiesel-ethanol-powered bandwagon, stick it to the oil tycoons and make sure our kids’ kids aren’t afraid of sunlight when they’re growing up. It’d probably help get us out of the Middle East, too.

Tunes

You like good music right? Buy these albums when they drop this spring and summer.
1. Arctic Monkeys, “Favourite Worst Nightmare” — Perhaps finally old enough to have a beer stateside, these young Brits return with a reportedly heavier dose of primo art-punk that chronicles nights out on the town in the over-looked, industrial haven that is Sheffield.
2. The White Stripes, “Icky Thump” — Jack and Meg White are primed to punch everybody else in the industry in the mouth with a return to the guitar-driven fusion of blues and punk that made them huge in the first place.
3. Interpol, (No album name yet) — Shit these guys are cool. They dress to kill and conjure the kind of dark, disturbing, racing and romantic reverb-drenched rock that talks of best-friend butcher serial killers and taking cruises with goddesses. Yes.


-- Chas McCarthy
Class of 2006, TDG production adviser Fall 2006