University of the South - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Sewanee, TN)

Page 14 text:

and the bare, cold ground. Men change their minds, alter their institu- tions, rethink their beliefs. No facet of any part or human existence is free from bondage to change. Everything is in a state of flux; nothing remains the same. The South, like every other thing, participates in the process of change. Southern states have for some time been inviting industry to come down, and much has. Some parts of the South are now faced with urban sprawl, traffic congestion, air pollu- tion. A new South seems to be emerging, one which not everyone likes, but which is being born none- theless. The physical aspects of change have made a difference in much of the thinking of the South. We may see in what is going on around us what seems to be a gradual alienation from the land. Fewer sons are staying behind to take over the family farm, and, indeed, there arc a great many 10

Page 16 text:

fewer persons engaged in agriculture than ever before. Citv life unfounded on the soil is the only life many Southerners know. It may be objected that there have always been cities and city-folk; but even in the city, the .Southerner has vet never remained too far from the soil. The South is still very much land-oriented, but forces are at work which can eventually re- duce significantly the Southerner ' s traditional feel for land. As Southerners move from the land, literally and figuratively, the old sense or order is lost to a certain de- gree, and old values become subject to change. The phenomenon of racial integration is something manv Southerners have found hard to ac- cept, yet the ease with which some of the South has accomodated itself is surprising. Southern religion is changing, becoming less a part of the total community life. Southerners are, to a certain extent, losing contact i?