Atlanta

Capital city of Georgia. Originally named Terminus because of its strategic location for transportation. It became known as Marthasville named for the daughter of an early mayor. In the 1850's the name of the emerging city was changed to Atlanta. There are conflicting stories on the name--one is that Atlanta was named for the ancient lost city of Atlantis while another story is that it is a shortened name for the railroad connection with the West, Atlantica-Pacifica. Atlanta was and is a central trade and transportation center. The fall of Atlanta in 1864 was key to the Federal effort to preserve the Union. The psychological boost to the Northern cause as well as the economic impact of the loss of Atlanta to the Confederacy insured the re-election of President Lincoln who had faced a serious challenge to his presidency in the 1864 election due to many Northerners' weariness of war. The city was burned by General Sherman after a forced evacuation of the civilians. The Confederates destroyed their armaments adding to the destruction of the city. Civilians had to live in the woods for months after Sherman's destruction of the city. After the war, the city rebuilt turning to a modern commercial economy encouraged by the vision of Henry Grady. This more business-oriented approach formed the basis of the "New South." The New South replaced the traditional, Jeffersonian view of Southern culture that focused on tranquility and cooperation with a Hamiltonian view that emphasizes competition and frenetic activity. This ethos has been taken up and intensified by 20th Century political, business, and media leaders in Atlanta. The symbol of Atlanta, the Phoenix, is descriptive of how the native Atlantans of the late 19th Century rebuilt the city after its destruction by the Federal government. The New South philosophy that worked well to rebuild Atlanta from the ashes that the Federal government left Atlanta in has now morphed into a cut-throat, anti-social "ethic" that Jefferson feared would take hold if the Hamiltonian view became dominant. Atlanta is now characterized by greed and aggressiveness. People there are typically hyper-active, aggressive, and detached. The political, economic climate is solidly pro-growth at all costs. The only social bond in Atlanta is commercialism. Atlanta is a boomtown with people flooding into the area simply to make money. No one has anything in common. People rarely know their neighbors or care to do so. There is no common culture to facilitate establishing and maintaining contacts and relationships. There is no effort to preserve culture in Atlanta. If anyone attempts to do so, they are likely to be labeled a racist. Mary Rose, Charlie Rose's former wife and a former anchor woman in Atlanta, has taken the lead to restore and open Martha Mitchell's house to the public. The house of the *Gone with the Wind* author was torched several times by arsonists who were determined to destroy one of the few landmarks not already demolished by developers. The fires were likely politically and racially motivated. "White Columns," the studio for Channel 2 that was built in the Greek-revival style was demolished and replaced by a modern building. People who come to town looking for traditional Southern culture and vestiges of Atlanta's past are discouraged from such interests. Tourists will find nothing like the charm and history of Savannah, Charleston, or New Orleans in Atlanta. Virtually all references to Atlanta's past have been torn down or suppressed by this modern cabal to make Atlanta into a monocultural icon. Atlanta's business, media, and political leaders seem to suffer from a massive inferiority complex trying to curry favor with the leftist elites in the North. They hate traditional culture and actively seek to destroy it. The city's native population has been overwhelmed by the influx of non-Georgians into the city and its surrounding suburbs. Native Atlantans are few and far between. The city's population is highly transitive. They are from all over the U.S., and since the 1996 Olympics, from all over the world. Consequently, there is very little indigenous culture in the Atlanta area. If the News Media led by WSB and the *Atlanta Journal* find any remnants of Southern culture, they will cast these traditions in racist terms trying to destroy them. At best, the Media ignores Southern traditions. Atlanta is a rootless, colorless place. It is a city "too busy to hate," but it is also a city "too busy for civility and culture." The natural environment is beautiful. Atlanta is a city in a forest. Earlier developers who were not as greedy and irresponsible preserved the trees and natural sloping terrain. But socially and architecturally, Atlanta is now a vast wasteland. The buildings are modern and ugly. A few of the newer buildings do have some style compared with the boxy, cubist monstrosities that dominate the skyline. Tom Wolfe famously described the art museum as looking like a chemical factory. As General Sherman said, "War is hell" when criticized for deliberately targeting civilians in Atlanta for bombardment and death. I would add to that insight that living in Atlanta now is hell.