tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post454904296632291972..comments2024-03-28T16:58:17.705-04:00Comments on Grim's Hall: Addendum on National MythsGrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-12938267684358027832012-01-04T09:24:45.962-05:002012-01-04T09:24:45.962-05:00You're close to the ground I was thinking of m...You're close to the ground I was thinking of myself, although I wasn't going to make an argument from religion particularly. I was thinking of a moral argument that exists in the myth sort of only by example -- Washington's example, say. The American myth is one of liberty, pursuit of happiness, and rights; it isn't one particularly of self-sacrifice, of willful service to the community, or duty.<br /><br />That's why the assaults on Washington's character (chiefly built around his ownership of slaves) were necessary to the early stages of unraveling the American myth. Since the moral argument only exists in the American myth by example, if you can undermine the examples you can undermine the virtues. Without those virtues of duty, willful service, and self-sacrifice, the American project is unsustainable.Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-50201398651072524962012-01-04T08:56:38.020-05:002012-01-04T08:56:38.020-05:00Well, I suppose one weakness is that it doesn'...Well, I suppose one weakness is that it doesn't co-opt the religious instinct. (Which probably exists precisely because it's very good at <a href="http://www.nicholas-wade.com/the-faith-instinct/" rel="nofollow">binding communities together.</a>) But I don't see how anything can or should be done about that.Joseph W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09480728887840887200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-84494189530403014722012-01-03T17:23:41.324-05:002012-01-03T17:23:41.324-05:00The two kinds of myths that have most often led to...The two kinds of myths that have most often led to serious atrocity have been racial origin myths and class-based origin myths. You mention the blessed freedom from racialism, but note also the blessed freedom from classism: the American mythology is a sustained assault on the idea that class is a real or binding thing. Anyone coming from anywhere can aspire to any place in society they wish.<br /><br />Those are real strengths of the form. There are some weaknesses, though. I've got one in mind, but before I throw it out there, I'd like to hear if there are any that are important to you. If we're going to take control of the process of myth-making, we have to think about what went wrong as well as what went right.Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-75171832067398974452012-01-03T13:35:23.272-05:002012-01-03T13:35:23.272-05:00And our myth certainly relies on the idea of these...<i>And our myth certainly relies on the idea of these things as rights - yet is blessedly detached from any continued racial identity.</i><br /><br />This point cannot be emphasized enough. I once had the pleasure of seeing it in action--I happened to be at a reenactment of the battle of Boundbrook, NJ, an action pretty much completely forgot about today, but before the reenactors went and shot off their muskets, there was some speechifying by local politicians. One of them happened to be the local state Representative, who also was an immigrant from India. So the assembled were treated to the spectacle of this guy lauding the commemoration of the events of the revolution at that place, which helped create a country and society where he, as an immigrant, could come and build a new life and run for public office and even get elected. <i>That</i> was the "National Myth" in action.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02521739006999750126noreply@blogger.com