Research Notes #24

The United States of Myth Making

Nov 15, 2021

Hello everyone and welcome to the final issue of 2021!

We have reached 12 months and 24 issues of this newsletter and covered so many things along the way. The original intent was to have a bi-weekly email that would detail some of the strategies I have learned through formal research in Sociology at Buffalo State College and through the University at Buffalo Library Science program.

During this time in history, where information is flying so quickly from one reader to another, via social media, I thought it would be wise to contribute some of the ways in which research can help to dispel the disinformation that is increasingly present on the Internet. Along the way, I’ve recommended books, articles, podcasts, youtube channels, and other newsletters that I felt aligned with the ideas presented in each issue.

I hope that you have enjoyed the newsletter so far and that you stick with me in the new year to see what is next. I will be taking a hiatus until January but will return, refreshed and renewed, with a wealth of topics to discuss in 2022. I wish you peace through the end of the year and that you can move into 2022 with a sense of hope for what the future holds. Thank you, again, for reading along with me, and please share this newsletter with others who might enjoy it.

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Myth vs. Reality

The United States is a country of contradictions. We claim to be founded on ideals that we rarely live up to on a daily basis. Those among us who claim to be patriotic are oftentimes quite racist, sexist, and homophobic, not to mention ethnocentric, isolationist, and authoritarian. But in order to truly see the contradictions at the heart of present-day United States rhetoric, we have to go back in time a bit and look at history through the lens of truth. This is a hard sell for those that wish to remain in the mythical world of “American Exceptionalism”, but it is necessary to see the reality of where we are at this particular moment in time.

The fight against Critical Race Theory, which is NOT taught in K-12 schools, is merely a ruse. In a conversation on the Straight White American Jesus podcast episode titled “Weekly Roundup: Trumpism Without Trump”, Bradley Onishi, PhD, made the case that this move toward anti-intellectualism is rooted in parents who believe in something akin to the following: “I don’t want my kids to learn about all of the terrible things that have happened to people of color and other marginalized groups throughout the history of this country.” (https://straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/) This framing of the argument by anti-CRT advocates fully centers whiteness, at the detriment of conversations around diversity and inclusion, and loses the thread of real American history. It boosts the myth that America is a white, Christian nation and that it should continue this way forevermore.

In his text, Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History, James W. Loewen notes:

“There is a reciprocal relationship between justice in the present and honesty about the past. When the United States has acheived justice in the present regarding some past act, then Americans can face it and talk about it more openly, because we have made it right. It has become a success story. Conversely, when we find a topic that our textbooks hide or distort, probably that signifies a continuing injustice in the present. Telling the truth about the past can help us make it right from here on.”

Loewen covers exactly what the anti-CRT movement has been pushing for - to forget about the history so as not to deal with it. To pretend that nothing bad ever happened as if it will make things better. In reality, pretending something didn’t happen makes it worse in EVERY CASE, not just in the history of the United States. But, as humans, it is often easier to try and forget about bad events, rather than facing them. This isn’t to let us off the hook, but to give an example as to why this might be happening. In the end, we have to face the past to understand how it created the structures of oppression that remain in our systems today.

Still, there are people that do not believe what I stated above. They believe the myths of the United States because that makes it easier to move forward. However, life does not improve for the majority of us if we just ignore the past. There is a minority of people (yes - as I say often - these people are the white, cishet, wealthy, able-bodied, dudes) that this strategy suits and so, let’s take a look at a couple of the myths that this small group floats as facts to navigate their power and privilege in American society.

Myth: The United States is a Christian Nation

This myth is rooted in the belief that the U.S. was founded by Christians for Christians and it is touted by white Evangelicals who are highly invested in the idea of America as a white Christian nation. Without this myth, white Evangelicals would be unable to display their persecution complexes for all to see.

In truth, the United States was founded to be a nation free from religion. The separation of church and state is foundational to our documents and very few of the framers were Christians. All religions are welcome and worshippers are free to gather in their own houses of worship at any time they like, but they are not to enforce their religious beliefs on others through the government.

Over the years, Christians have become more and more invested in shaping the politics of the United States and although that might seem good to some folks, for the majority of us it is detrimental. The conservative views of the Christians who lobby for more church involvement in the state create a slippery slope for the rest of us, regardless of our beliefs. As stated in an article by Dianne Post and Robert J. McWhirter on msmagazine.com in September of 2021:

“Christian nationalists, like the Klan concurrently and before it, do not count any more than Nazis during World War II or Soviet communism did. The vision of America they want to impose is so exclusive and violent it cannot fall within the acceptable range of discourse.”

The United States is not now, and never was, exclusively a Christian nation, and keeping the separation of church and state intact is the only way to ensure that future generations of Americans will be free to worship as they wish without actual persecution.

Myth: Anyone can succeed in the United States if they just work hard

Also referred to as “bootstrap mentality”, this myth ignores the underlying structures that privilege some groups of people over others in society. The ways in which American society is structured give preference to white people and make it hard, if not impossible, for people of color to succeed. Yes, there are outliers, as there are in every situation, but the vast majority of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) in the U.S. have to overcome hurdles that white people do not. In fact, the myth is fed by the fact that white people often don’t even know these hurdles exist and therefore believe that BIPOC have the same opportunities as white people and that they just need to work harder to realize success.

Belief in this myth also leads people to claim that affirmative action is either not needed or a form of reverse discrimination, neither of which is true. In fact, reverse discrimination is not real and creates another layer of mythology in American culture. The myth also pushes forward the notion that people who live on the street, regardless of their race/gender/ability/etc., have done something to get there that has nothing to do with the structure of society. That somehow, being without a home is an individual problem and not a structural one.

Myth: America is a free nation and there is no such thing as structural racism

This past week, an example of discounting structural issues at the heart of inequality was brought into stark contrast when Governor Ron DeSantis called out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for his remarks in Memphis, TN on bridge design and historical racism. In his speech, Secretary Buttigieg referenced Robert Caro’s 1974 book, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, in which Caro discusses Moses’ general racist views and how they were seemingly baked into his designs for parkways and bridges in New York (the City specifically, but also across the State.)

Although the book, which won the Pulitzer Prize, may have exaggerated Moses’ overall story a bit, there is still something to be said for the ways in which infrastructure plays a part in keeping racism in place throughout this country. Even if unintentionally playing that part, building a road through a neighbourhood that cuts off one side of the community from resources that the other side can easily partake in (I’m looking at you Kensington Expressway (the 33) in Buffalo!) is still inherently racist. DeSantis was being obtuse (shocker) when he responded to Buttigieg’s remarks with “a road’s a road” (floridapolitics.com), but his comment belies the greater myth that racism is merely a figment of the imagination to those who stand to gain from pushing the bootstrap mentality.

After all, if people believe that it is all on their own individual efforts to succeed and there are no systems in place to boost or limit opportunities, they will also believe that it is a personal problem when they don’t succeed, and that is just not the case. Success does require effort, but it also requires the ability to move forward without obstacles. Especially the types of obstacles that have been built up, over 400 years, in order to continue systems of oppression.

For more on the story behind Robert Caro’s profile of Robert Moses, check out this article by Thomas J. Campanella at bloomberg.com.

How do we move forward?

The myths above, along with many others, are shining examples of why we find it so difficult to move forward in the United States. We take 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Each time a group gains civil rights, a backlash occurs. Believing the myths of American Exceptionalism and fighting to maintain superiority where it should not exist are the real battles. Conspiracy theories perpetuate American mythology and push people to vote against their own best interests, further stifling positive change.

If we really want to live up to the ideals that we hold so dear, we need to stop voting for people that do not have the best interests of everyone in mind. We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation built on colonialism. We are a nation of free thinkers, but we are also a nation that gets swept up in skepticism. We are a nation that professes to believe in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all, while also separating families at the border and prioritizing the needs of the few over the many. We are a nation of contradictions, but if we learned to work together for the greater good we could make our country into a place we are all proud to call home. We could make it a place of unlimited opportunity, where everyone has a voice, a choice, a chance, and a glimmer of hope. It might sound a bit sappy, but I think we can do it if we try. I believe in us.

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