Posted by
Dave on Friday, July 07, 2006 3:15:58 PM
Let me start with a brief explanation of the term North Cackakacky for those not in the know. Cackalacky (Cackalacka, Cackalak, or Kakalaki) is a slang word for Carolina. While the origin is uncertain, the term has recently been popularized by Southeastern Pop/Hip-hop culture and is now marketed through stickers, t-shirts, hats, and the like. It’s a positive term; used by those proud to call North or South Carolina their home. Similar terms have been given to towns and cities like Greenville, NC - G-Vegas; Rocky Mount, NC - Rock City; and Raleigh - Raleighwood. I reckon you could say it’s a pop-culture term of endearment.
So I guess your next question is “how on earth has the hip-hop term Cackalacky ended up on my precious, conservative Townhall.com”.
Well, let me try to explain. And while I do, you may want to consider the juxtaposition of what I’m telling you to our country’s future voters.
I like the term North Cackalacky cause it’s a little like me – southern pride with a twist and a sense of humor. As I’ve said before, I consider myself to be more or less a hodgepodge, caught somewhere in the middle of adolescence and manhood (though my wife would argue that “the middle” would be a stretch), being responsible and lackadaisical, refined and boorish, and, well, you get the point.
I grew up watching MTV everyday after school (despite my parents’ best efforts) while listening to “A Prairie Home Companion” from the backseat of my mom and dad’s burgundy Buick Lesabre. I spent Sundays and Wednesday nights in church and Friday and Saturday night out partying with my friends. I earned a BA from the ever-liberal
UNC Chapel Hill and a MBA from
Regent University (see
Pat Robertson). Even this weekend I’m going to struggle with whether or not I should finish painting the handmade rocking chairs on my front porch or finish the next few levels of Ghost Recon on the PS2.
I’m not a big fan of today’s pop-culture, but I can’t ignore it either. I can’t help it if I leave the constant chatter of AM 680 WPTF to sing along (and maybe dance a little but don’t tell anyone) to some hip-hop group in a colleague’s car on the way to lunch. In fact, the last dozen songs I downloaded from iTunes to my ever-so-cool iPod nano included Elvis, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Linkin Park, Usher, and St. Andrew’s Pipes and Drums. Sure, I may have an eclectic taste in music, but the point I’m trying to make is that most people are not “all or nothing”.
And on top of that, people change. I’m sure we all know liberals from college, who despite their past rants and raves against conservative values, secretly vote republican because they can’t stand the fact that for every $1,000 they earn, they only get to keep $700 of it, and yet education continues to suffer and our roads are pathetic. Let’s face it; people don’t stay in the same place forever (well, except for most hippies I know).
I’m no expert, but I do know that urban hip-hop culture isn’t totally related to class or socio-economic status. I see little, rich, white kids hanging out with their pants sagging and their cars “tricked-out”. It takes money to put shiny chrome on a 1992 Honda Civic with a 3-foot tall spoiler on the back. But one day mommy and daddy may no longer be an endless source of money and things could change. One day, they may realize that their parents worked hard to earn their lifestyle and didn’t actually spend their life suppressing minorities or stealing from the poor. And when that day comes, they may decide to grow up and cast a vote based on knowledge and intellect rather than what P-Diddy or Green Day says in a Rock The Vote commercial they saw on MTV.
After all, I did!
Ya'll come back now, ya hear!