Ask people what it means to them “to be an American.” Almost every answer will be a variation on the theme of freedom, but in the abstract, as if they each were repeating by rote phrases from a hymn.
"We bless you, Lord, for our conditioning."
Bush had the majority of Americans’ support as late as 2004. He did so because the disconnect he projected is alive and well in the heart of most Americans. But now they've soured on Bush.
Yet the illusion about 'virtuous' America remains Bush will soon be gone. Not so the fatal assumption that to be an American is to be the world.
Myth and Propaganda: Bush and the American Illusion
In the great causes of nations, myth and propaganda are essential political ingredients.
Myth tells a nation who it is, what it stands for and attempts to establish good purpose for sending its youth to spill their blood and lose their lives on foreign soil.
Propaganda is the means of propelling myth into motion. Remember the Maine...Make the world safe for democracy...Remember Pearl Harbor...United We Stand...Support Our Troops, etc.
Myth even evokes God as a faithful ally in the acts of murder and theft that war brings. All is 'just' because it is done in His name.
Myth by definition is not intended to be a scientifically sustainable hypothesis but an article of faith. Myth is part of the human condition and it can also be dangerous.
Writings 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
