novelist phillip roth has written deftly that one of america's fervently embraced communal passions is indulging an ecstasy of sanctimony about self-defined advancements over others, condemning failings of others past and present, an

novelist phillip roth has written deftally that one of america's fervently embraced communal passions is indulging an ecstasy of sanctimony about self defined advancements over others, condemning failings of others past and present, an ecstasy of sanctimony. suggesting something on the order of souls are saved only by grace so there is no reason to hue to any moral law or avoid malfeasance whatsoever once you have signed on behavior becomes irrelevant. in a kind of reversal of that, confederates as secular infidels. their testimony about lee or anything else does not have standing. a bright youngster from ohio, who loved the civil war since he was a small boy, went on a lot of tours with me. while he was still, he was from ohio, loved ohio troops didn't have any southern enthusiasm at all. none. but as a high schoolboy with great grades he was eligible to graduate with honors and wrote a pay ear bow the civil war and chose to describe the battle of fredericksburg and talked about the lighting up of the northern horizon and mentioned southerners hadn't seen it because of where they liv