The U.S. South isor once wasa way of life. It is also a political position. It is also a social structure. It is also men and women involved in that life, that political position, that social structure. To them, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision against segregated schools has an emotional charge almost unimaginable outside the South. To most Southern Negroes it means that the gates of opportunity have opened. To most Southern whites it means that the gates of chaos have opened.
Given a glimmering of understanding of how powerfully the emotion runs, the marvel of today's debate in the...