Let Confederate Myths Be 'Gone with the Wind'

     I’ll be honest, the first time I read “Gone with the Wind” as a youth, I was overcome by the pageantry of Southern plantations with their knights and ladies served by contented “darkies.” I was angered by those mean-spirited Yankees who destroyed this idyllic way of life.     
     My myopia grew worse when, as a reporter, I interviewed the woman who played the photographic double for Scarlett O’Hara in the movie version. She stood in for leading lady Vivien Leigh for long-distance shots. I reveled in her memories of Leigh and Clark Gable.         
     But my misconceptions vanished when I read “Lies My Teacher Told Me.” In it, author James Loewen describes how “Gone with the Wind” propagandized the myths of the Confederacy. He says the novel, written by Southerner Margaret Mitchell during the Jim Crow era, sweeps under the carpet the oppression of African Americans and demonizes Yankees for their “Northern aggression.”     
     Yet that myth continues today, bolstered by Confederate flags and monuments. It’s easy to call out these overt racist symbols, but it’s harder to recognize when I unfurl my own banner of discrimination or memorialize prejudiced thoughts. For instance, what about when I secretly think I’m smarter or better than others because of their race or ethnicity? That’s cultural racism.     
     It’s time to take down Confederate flags and remove Confederate monuments from the landscape of our nation and the landscape of our hearts. And as for “Gone with the Wind,” perhaps we should view it with more levity like comedienne Carol Burnett did here.         
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​      Artwork: screenshot from  “Gone with the Wind” movie trailer.