Defining the Charms of the South

There is beauty to be appreciated all over North America; you can find something charming and distinct anywhere that you go. There is something more to be discovered, however, once you leave the cold, sparkling cities of the North. Find a southbound interstate and let it run like sand through the Appalachian mountains, or down through the Great Plains. Watch Missouri open up to you like a gateway. The streets are cracked and the gas pumps are rusty; welcome home.

The Southern United States, when viewed through the right pair of eyes, is a dreamland of eccentric characters and tangled roots. But it does take a certain perspective to truly appreciate this. Many people who do not live in the South can only see the area as popular media respresents it. From Trueblood to the Beverly Hillbillies, they treat everything they watch and read as if it is gospel. The South is full of Gospel, alright - just not the kind everyone else is thinking.

Have you ever heard a Southern preacher deliver a sermon? Whether you are deeply convicted or consider yourself agnostic, you are missing out if you have never attended a revival in the Bible Belt. Southern evangelists often turn preaching into an Olympic event. They do not look down at the church from a podium; they pace up and down the aisles thumping their Bibles. They break a sweat. They are not afraid to raise their voices. And it is in their voices - thick and baying with the cadence of the South - that the conviction in their heart shines through the strongest.

Religion is just one example of how firmly things can take hold of you in the South. If you have not heard, people are often described as being nicer once you cross the Mason-Dixon Line. This strange phenomenon is not really phenomena at all: Southerners are just generally a happy breed. Their laid-back temperaments are as appealing as Caolina sunshine. Not to say there are no unfriendly people in the South. Go poking around the backwoods of Kentucky and you will find more than a few irate rebels. However, it is not the Southerner's philosophy to bemoan his condition.

Though the simple life reigns in the Land of Cotton, do not mistake the South for boring. There might not be a crime on every street corner, but there is always a mystery to unfold. The South is steeped in history and tradition. Everyone has a story. From Alabama's snake-handling churches to Louisiana's French Quarter, there is a spiritual magnetism that draws people in as strongly as the force that draws a compass needle North. It is this charm that truly defines the South.