America’s History Of Political Myths & The Ones Available To Harris Walz | Richard Slotkin | TMR

Live-streamed: August 19, 2024

Richard Slotkin, cultural critic and historian, professor of English and American Studies at Wesleyan University, discusses his recent book A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America.

Professor Richard Slotkin then joins, diving right into the concept of the “national myth” as the use of history and narratives of the past to rationalize the present and its ongoing crises. Expanding on this, Professor Slotkin walks through the role of social and economic insecurity in spurring the need to make sense of a moment, before stepping back to touch on how malleable these mythologies can be, with the same stories often taking on multiple perspectives that can be used and presented differently to affirm various, frequently conflicting, contemporary ideologies, parsing through the various myths of the American Revolution, Civil War, and the “Good War: (WWII), and how they have been employed throughout history. After expanding on the utility of these mythologies, particularly within the context of the US economic and legal systems, Professor Slotkin brings Sam and Emma into the modern era, outlining the grounding mythologies of the MAGA movement in the Lost Cause and the Second Amendment, and how Democrats can (and might be) learning how to use these mythologies to their benefit as Conservatives do.

#SamSeder #EmmaVigeland #MajorityReport #politics #news

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[cassiusdhami]

“Exaggerated patriotism, is the most insincere form of self-conceit. Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.”
- Oscar Wilde

[brianlecloux]

Slotkin is a national treasure. Thank you, Sam and Emma.

[djdwoodward]

One of the best MR interviews of the year.

[kentdenero]

I'm a big Slotkin fan, no one better understands the concept and idea of myth building, its use, reuse and the creation of identity through it. Slotkin has a series of lectures that better explain how the Western better explains the development of the American identity.

[uqdbrkc]

Speaking of a use of the frontier myth, I am old enough to have a vivid memory of the 1970 "Crying Indian" ad when it first came on TV. Imagine my disillusionment when I later found out the "Indian" was an Italian!

[clairejeannette]

As an 80 year old person who was a politically active feminist, I understand the sense of loss at not being in the center anymore (Sam, the manner in which you said you are 60 recently. I think you are feeling this a bit.). I can extrapolate this feeling to many groups, and w some compassion. There is loss, real loss as well as a sense of loss. I am psychologically fairly sophisticated by training and my own self understanding and acceptance, so I can weather this storm. But for those who aren’t, they are highly reactive to their loss of position by age, race, gender, geography, class, ….. Therefore, they/we act like fools.
Thanks for exploring this a bit even if you tend to primarily explore things through the limited view of good/bad politics.

[tonywords]

So thankful for you guys giving professor Slotkin a platform!!

[henrytheworst]

This is SO GOOD - I’m favoriting this. Listening to someone this smart makes my anxiety go down a notch

[majorlazor]

As a young black teenager the amount of cognitive dissonance I had to accept in order to score well in US history is kind of astounding now that I think about it. I even recall my teacher letting us discuss if interning Japanese living in the U.S. was justified. The majority of the class disagreed with me and they concluded it was the right decision. I was the only black student in a mostly white class.

[jellyroll]

This discussion is so valuable it should be referenced in hundreds of other videos and articles that have already been published.

Two of several reasons the Right has been better at selling their myths: same myths every cycle and a homogeneous audience.

[ddthor]

Now THAT was a great interview. More podcasts should follow this example.

[NeptunesHorses]

I first read some of Slotkin's work on the west and violence in a course on the development of American literary canon, taught by a professor I had taken for a course on American mythmaking. Will add Slotkin's new title to my library; thank you for the wonderful segment.

[RingWorlds]

One of the most interesting interviews you guys have done

[OHz]

35:59 movie, “Matewan” is a story of an ex-Wobbly who in Matewan, West Virginia in 1920 and the attempt to organize miners against the Stone Mountain Coal Company

[neilmarshall]

I want a 100 video playlist of Prof Slotkin. Fantastic teacher / educator.

[Fellowtellurian]

This has to be my favorite episode to date. Excellent discussion.

[kainlockley]

SCrOTUS always likes to forget that we're NOT a nation of laws... we're a nation of PEOPLE!!!

[discowolf]

This my favorite interview this year. Left is best (space is base)🚀🫡

[tylerhackner]

Love this show and convos. Left is best comrades

[stephenbailey]

Most important principle that came out of Reconstruction:
A person is a citizen of the nation, not of a state.
The radical jurists are trying to turn back that clock.