“American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God”
I have no idea of the origin of the above saying, it has been around for a very long time and likely adapted from some other saying. But, it pretty much sums up the deep feelings of many Americans born and raised in the Southern States of America.
It also is a target of much ridicule from many Americans born and raised in the Northern States who simply do not understand the attitudes and feelings of those many Southerners with their attachment to their birthplace.
Nowhere can this be better seen than in the last few days as following the murder of nine innocent people at a Church in Charleston South Carolina and the focus being placed on a small flag representing the Confederacy in many people’s minds.