In this episode, I interview Georgia native Nicole Elizabeth Williams, who is a public policy professional and former political campaign staffer. She holds two postgraduate degrees from the University of Glasgow in the fields of public policy and political communication and is a 2010 graduate of Tulane University. She previously worked as a staffer for a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons in Great Britain prior to returning to the US. Her primary area of focus is the intersection of Southern colonial history and its effect on contemporary culture with a particular focus on the Scots-Irish.
Williams and I discuss moderns’ disdain for history and heritage, economic progressive nationalism vs traditionalism, the sad state of American conservatism, and the leftist colonization of the South, especially that of Richmond, Virginia – my native home and a place where she once worked for the inept city government.
Mentioned in our conversation are four must-read essays that Williams wrote for the Abbeville Institute: “How to Be a Conservative and the Southern Tradition,” “Rediscovering Heritage,” “What Price Prosperity?” and “The Tragedy of Land Use in the South.”
Comments
This was an excellent podcast. Ms. Williams asks two central questions that the opposition to the crazy left must ask themselves: First, what exactly is America? Secondly, since most of the opposition loosely calls itself “conservative,” what exactly is a conservative? I think it is in these two fundamental questions that the explanation for our current problems can be found and on the positive side, the answer to our problems can be found there as well. Great podcast. It is so refreshing to hear actual ideas articulated to the public. I am so sick of whining, screaming and cartoonish slogans.
Thank you, William. Yes, “conservatism” – the biggest con of our time. We must purge ourselves from those wolves in sheep’s clothing to be able to even hobble hobble forward toward any kind of meaningful self-preservation beyond the individual. The left, despite it idiocy and illogic, is solidified through purpose: the destruction of Western civilization. The right is too fragmented, I fear, to ever be able to resist the onslaught in any meaningful way. I’m writing about this now for my next post and would love to hear your thoughts once I get them published. Pray mightily, brother. And God bless you for always having my back!
Great interview. If I may have my say, I think that you Americans should embrace your continental and anglosaxon roots, like Kirk did. One of the interesting things about Southern, especially Virginian, conservatism is how similar it is the conservatism of from my home country Denmark. Even though the political scenery is different: monarchy vs republicanism, the thoughts are almost identical.
I agree!! I’m not sure if I said this in the interview or not, but I’m 3/4 British Isle mutt (Scots-Irish, Welsh and probably a little English) and a 1/4 Lebanese, but I’m 100% Virginia-born Southern for the very reasons you cite! Whatever I lack in blood, I fully embrace by blessed adoption. We ALL stand on the shoulders of giants, and to think we’re so great and without sin is not only hubris, it’s detrimental to society and individual. The power-brokers are banking on this, pardon the pun, and destruction of roots and traditions are at the core of their devilish game.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this one as well, DM. I’ve enjoyed Ms. Williams’s articles over at Abbeville, and look forward to more!
Thanks, DD. I look forward to more of her excellent writing, as well.
Imagine having this kind of legendary bloodline and wasting it on muh post-graduate education instead of having children. I can’t be the only listener who was triggered when she seemed to brag that she was living a 20-something lifestyle in her 40’s or when she said “But I have A nephew.” Sad!
Jonathan, I’m not so sure Nicole was bragging about her lifestyle. I too sometimes wonder why smart women are childless. I don’t know her personal story, but I do know that women of our generation often find ourselves in that boat. My own story echoes the bill of goods of the “you can have it all” feminism or “work, not motherhood, leads to happiness and empowerment” feminism that duped Gen X women bought hook, line, and sinker, only to regret it later. For instance, I hate that I waited till age 29 to get married, and that my husband and I waited 7 freakin’ years to have kids, and that we only had 3 children. It was only through God’s grace and mercy that I had that many since my second go round produced identical twins. I wish I had married younger, I wish I had had more children, I wish I had never been a damn feminist in the first place. But hindsight is 20/20, which is why I use my experiences to preach to the younger generations about the mistakes I made and the dangers of feminism, which are not only anti-family, but anti-social, anti-nature, anti-self-interest, and anti-God. It is indeed sad that so many of my generation had zero to 1 child, and even more depressing that the younger generations care even less about parenthood and marriage. All we can do now, though, is use what we have to impart knowledge to people, and I think Nicole is doing that with aplomb.
Really enjoyed this interview. Does Nicole have a blog?
Author
Unfortunately, she does not. But you can follow Nicole on Twitter where she tweets occasional brilliant things! https://twitter.com/nicolew100
Glad you liked the interview, Thomas, and thanks for commenting. 🙂