Believe it or not, South Carolina is the fourth-happiest state in the South. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the Palmetto State is the only trails Virginia, Texas and Georgia in being the happiest state in Dixie. Of all the states in America, Virginia rocks No. 15, Texas shows up at No. 21, Georgia ranks No. 23, while South Carolina comes in at No. 26.
Happiest States in the South
15. Virginia
21. Texas
23. Georgia
26. South Carolina
30. Florida
33. Alabama
34. North Carolina
40. Louisiana
42. Tennessee
46. Arkansas
48. Mississippi
49. Kentucky
50. West Virginia
We like The Herald-Journal. It has some of the best political reporters in the state, and the crime blotter is in the Top 3, along with the Free Times and the Charleston City Paper.
However, the op-eds leave something to be desired. Take, for instance, the Sunday column by Lane Filler titled, “Very proud to be living in South Carolina.” Filler seemed to be upset by regular emails from his sister that link to New York Times stories and asking, in effect, what the hell is going on in the Palmetto State.
When news of Gov. Mark Sanford’s tango in paradise broke, she started sending me e-mails with links to the New York Times stories. Apparently she imagined we were too busy with a huge moonshine feature and a special food section titled “Ku Klux Klan Wives Share Their Favorite Recipes” to catch on to the Sanford buzz.
Each e-mail essentially read “What is wrong with freakin’ South Carolina?”
She was sending these communications from New York, where Gov. Eliot Spitzer had to resign after his assignations with hookers were revealed, and his replacement, Gov. David Paterson, announced he and his wife were both adulterers so quickly that it was practically part of his oath of office.
With all due respect, South Carolina was the state that gave the finger to the doctrine of federalism to the point where President Andrew Jackson was ready to send in the army. Then there was the infamous caning incident. Not to mention governor and then U.S. Sen. Ben Tillman saying on the Senate floor that blacks who wanted to be involved in politics deserved to be shot (Tillman also beat up his fellow S.C. senator), U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond leading the longest filibuster in American history over a civil rights bill, and, oh yeah, secession.
Hey, we’ve lived in the South all our lives. Hell, we’re from a town that’s known less for steel (its calling card) and more for Bull Connor, fire hoses and bombings. That doesn’t mean we’re not hometown proud. At one point, we lived in Texas, and that was too far away from the Deep South to be comfortable.
Each Southern state has its share of corrupt officials and absurd political scandals. It comes with the territory. But, for a columnist at a paper owned by the New York Times Company to slag the Times is a little funny. Beyond that, it’s one thing to be proud of where you’re from. Our family spent its nearly 300 years in America between South Carolina and Alabama. Love them both. To defend the nuttiness that happens is quite another kettle of fish.
Certainly, part of the reaction is part of the “He can’t do that to our pledges — only we can do that to our pledges” meme, along with the knee-jerk irritation of Yankees commenting on our state. Still, it’s silly to go into a “I know you are, but what am I” discussion when said state becomes a national joke for about three months.
