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About The Course and this Blog
- Robert Botsch, USCA Political Science
- I am the one on the right! I have been a professor of political science at USCA since 1978. We will use this blog for class discussion and for posting written assignments that I may make. When you post you may do so using the anonymous profile, but please sign your name to all your posts! Posts are shown REVERSE chronological order. The most recent post is at the top. So READ FROM THE BOTTOM UP in the topics shown in the BLOG ARCHIVE above.
7 comments:
In order to explain political culture it is important that we first define what it means. Political culture is how individuals feel about government, whether in terms of how much of a role government should play as well as how they relate to government. South Carolina’s political culture of the present that is ever so much changing is a traditionalistic one where the elites are the ones who have all the say and non-elites are discouraged from getting involved in politics. See with these elites there is no room for change everything should pretty much stay the same, well times are changing and so is the culture. There are several forces however that are changing the SC culture. One of the forces is the in-migration as it is called in the text. This in-migration is the rise in Hispanics and the rise of those who are not southern, these people are also different in how they view government, hence the change. This in-migration of people to the state has inevitably forced change, it has caused for political leaders to take notice of the rise of residents to the state. Leaders are having to pay more attention to education needs of this new influx of people. These people are also putting pressure on government to provide services to all them. In SC, you can see a lot of the conservatism that once ruled the state changing. The once ever popular “Blue Laws” that once applied in every county of the state are now diminishing. The sale of alcohol on Sunday. Also, as the text notes the use of churches is declining in the state, except for the Catholic and African American churches. There is also an influx of retired people moving to the state, maybe because of some of the cheap property values, that and Florida is probably filling up with retired people. This change in people is forcing government to provide more and more medical services to these people. Overall, I believe these changes are for the better in our state. I believe the State is getting more and more services to the people and the “social elites” are no longer the only ones trying to run the state. I have to say I think it is a shame that the decline in church use is taking place. I feel everyone should be in Church on Sunday. However, it is also good to not penalize those who do not go to church by keeping stores close or not selling alcohol. Change can benefit everyone. The culture shift puts South Carolina back on the map to not just be a conservative state. It is a state that matters in the political dealings of the whole country. I think a little change in political culture for SC is good.
Matt Spivey
Political Culture is the role a group of people feel the government should play. This happens when persons from different backgrounds come together and bring there different cultures and political views. Some of the forces that change South Carolina Political Culture were Anglican aristocrats which were large numbers of enslaved Africans. The economy of South Carolina was primarily based on agriculture. These settlers wanted to move as far west as they could but had to stop[ because they have heavy boles of cotton and they had reached the fall.it says in this reading that we can find statistically significant differences in the percentage of Episcopalians, who are the religious descendents of Anglicans, among the regions of the state. It is obvious that these persons brought their own religion to South Carolina which affected the culture of South Carolina. It goes on to say that more small religious liberal groups are found in the low counrty.They this that i found amusing is that there is sill a larger percentage of African american living in the low country rather than the up county.these changes that happen i feel were good. It is good when persons can express their own religion which is apart of their culture. This made South Carolina more diverse and able to relate and understand other religions.
keith simms
The manner in which South Carolinians view themselves in government and the role government plays in their lives summons up political culture. Ultimately the influx of non-southerners, in-migrants is the force changing South Carolina’s political culture. These in-migrants bring with them views that clash with the traditionalist conservative political and social views of southerners. In-migrants are placing burdens on rural and urban governments who are aren’t accustomed to a large increase in the population growth. Local governments are forces to provide more services.
The changes that were previously stated by my classmates and me aren’t good. Yes, we must be open minded, but South Carolina, I believe should hold on to many of its traditionalist views. But South Carolina should open up to a government that equally represents all economic facets of the state.
DeQuawn Smith
Some of the forces that is changing South Carolina’s political culture is definitely the population. In the study done we see were the number of actual “southerners” have declined. The number of people who now identify themselves as southerners have gone up. They are bring their ideals and morals to the community which is a factor to consider. Religion is also another factor to consider. We now see a change in the blue laws. The traditionalistic culture is also changing. I agree with Elazar’s statement that the changes that were taking place were no more than “necessary accommodations made by the elites so they could maintain control.” One of the changes that I feel is a good change is the change of the non-elites being discouraged to participate in politics. South Carolina is not exactly leading the pact but I do see some progress in that area. I was born and raised in the CSRA and what I have observed upon my return to the area is that “sharecropping” mentality has gone down. It has not gone away but I do see some change in that respect. I can remember when the Graniteville-Mill plant was open and that for many people was were they aspired to work, I don’t see that much anymore as mills, etc… go. The in-migration is a definite factor in the changes to the political culture. Anytime you have an influx of another culture that becomes apart of another culture you will most certainly see changes. Not only will there be a change in ideals, especially in the case with the immigrants, you will see a change in laws. This can be good or bad thing dependent upon how you look at things. If you trying to defend the status quo, then you opposed to a change in culture. I feel that change is a good thing. Embracing other cultures can be beneficial to all. Political culture will always change to accommodate the changes in society and the world.
Erica Wilson Armour
All three signed answers note the importance of in-migration in adding new flavors to the dominant culture of the state, increasing the demand for services, and eroding the moral conservatism of the state, though Matt and DeQuawn seem to have some mixed feelings about some lost conservative values. I would point out to Matt that many liberals and moderates also go to church -- the split within the old Southern Baptist denomination discussed in the reading is really a split between those demanding a strict conservative interpretation of the Bible (fundamentalists) and relatively more moderate groups. I am not sure exactly which traditional views DeQuawn wants to hold on to (?). Make sure you explain your preferences more completely!
Erica W uses her experience in Graniteville to illustrate changes she sees in participation. Graniteville is an excellent example of how change is being driven in the state. Traditional labor intensive low skilled jobs in mills are dying (the mills there closed in the summer of 2006). Cheap land values have allowed developers to buy up land and start major developments that will bring in a lot more outsiders. Those who lost jobs may find new jobs in service occupations or in construction, but many of the younger ones will seek additional education (which is also a major factor in bringing about change, because education promotes tolerance of those who are different and exposes people to alternative ways of living and seeing the world). People who were taught that government was bad and who always left government to others (of course the others – the elite – were all too happy to run things) are now seeing a need for a local government in Graniteville so that they can place some controls and limits on development. Why? To protect some of the values that they do hold dear, like minimizing congestion and preserving green space and the outdoors. Here they are running into some of their own traditional values – not wanting government to tell them what they can do with their land. You can see this contradiction in values as the residents of Graniteville debate whether to incorporate into a municipality. On the one hand they hate the taxes and controls that government brings, but on the other hand they need those very controls to be able to preserve the landscape that they so love from overdevelopment. So the good or bad that Erica talks about is more than just whether one wants to protect the status quo – change in some parts of the status quo may be required to protect other aspects of the status quo you may want to keep!
Bob B
I think that the battles within the Baptist church have forced some change. While other religions are sprouting up and becoming noticeable, the old southern Baptist traditions are fading out. Having lived in South Carolina for most of my life, the change is very evident. Another force of change is the immigration of outsiders to the state. South Carolina is a nice state for people who are ready to retire. I think Aiken County is one of the largest retirement areas. I say this because there are lots of senior citizens here. Anyway, when people move from up north they bring their cultures with them. As they settle and bring children with them, their cultures are incorporated into ours. Then their culture is passed on for years and years. Many Southerners don’t like this. I recently saw a story on the news about Southerners and immigrant workers. The Southerners did not like the idea at all. With South Carolina being a really “traditional culture”, people aren’t all that acceptable to change. The fact remains that when different cultures are incorporated into others, there is going to be some change. This is what is happening in South Carolina today.
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