Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History
by Kurt Andersen
'In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen shows that what's happening in our country today--this post-factual, "fake news" moment we're all living through--is not something new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character. Ameri…
Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History
by Kurt Andersen
'In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen shows that what's happening in our country today--this post-factual, "fake news" moment we're all living through--is not something new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character. America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and true believers, by hucksters and their suckers. Fantasy is deeply embedded in our DNA.
'Over the course of five centuries--from the Salem witch trials to Scientology to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, from P. T. Barnum to Hollywood and the anything-goes, wild-and-crazy sixties, from conspiracy theories to our fetish for guns and obsession with extraterrestrials--our love of the fantastic has made America exceptional in a way that we've never fully acknowledged. From the start, our ultra-individualism was attached to epic dreams and epic fantasies--every citizen was free to believe absolutely anything, or to pretend to be absolutely anybody. With the gleeful erudition and tell-it-like-it-is ferocity of a Christopher Hitchens, Andersen explores whether the great American experiment in liberty has gone off the rails. "
"I believe we are living in a world imagined by ancestors who didn’t love us, who didn’t believe in an abundant earth and our collective power to steward it. It is time for us to imagine beyond the current oppressive construct."
"How do we pivot from being victims of change to being shapers of it?"
Some days I feel like my greatest lesson while teaching is telling a student you made this problem you are not a victim. The self created victim syndrome starts early! And hard to shake.
Which explains MUCH about the drumplican/MAGAcultfan (especially TFFP) penchant for bemoaning their victimization and pointing the finger anywhere but at themselves.
Thanks for the post. I found it at my local library and put it on hold.
I am not a historian but I have personally seen "tent revivals" down in East Texas with what even a 14 year old kid can identify as a huckster looking for money.
AND, I have seen preachers who grew horns during the week chasing the local women and then spew hellfire and damnation on Sunday.
Religious hucksterism in America is one of the founding principals of the country.
And, then? There is John Adams on the other side thank goodness.
Is fantasy not embedded in cultures older than ours? I think it is, maybe in various ways. I believe it's our "ultra-individualism" that mixes with characteristics such as fantastical thinking to create the good and the ugly that the U.S. has been.
In his fascinating book SAPIENS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMANKIND, Yuval Noah Harari calls many of humans' inventions--like religion, corporations, and money--fiction. I find that revelatory because it means we can reimagine and change those fictitious narratives.
Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History
by Kurt Andersen
'In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen shows that what's happening in our country today--this post-factual, "fake news" moment we're all living through--is not something new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character. America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and true believers, by hucksters and their suckers. Fantasy is deeply embedded in our DNA.
'Over the course of five centuries--from the Salem witch trials to Scientology to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, from P. T. Barnum to Hollywood and the anything-goes, wild-and-crazy sixties, from conspiracy theories to our fetish for guns and obsession with extraterrestrials--our love of the fantastic has made America exceptional in a way that we've never fully acknowledged. From the start, our ultra-individualism was attached to epic dreams and epic fantasies--every citizen was free to believe absolutely anything, or to pretend to be absolutely anybody. With the gleeful erudition and tell-it-like-it-is ferocity of a Christopher Hitchens, Andersen explores whether the great American experiment in liberty has gone off the rails. "
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35171984-fantasyland
Murmurations: Stewarding the Future
(adrienne maree brown)
"I believe we are living in a world imagined by ancestors who didn’t love us, who didn’t believe in an abundant earth and our collective power to steward it. It is time for us to imagine beyond the current oppressive construct."
"How do we pivot from being victims of change to being shapers of it?"
https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2022/01/21/adrienne-maree-brown-stewarding-the-future
I think choosing victimization is a much easier life than choosing empowerment. Yes??
Because, if I choose empowerment, then, have big setbacks (like I have chosen and have experienced), well, I have nobody to blame but MYSELF.
IF I choose victimization, then, when I fail, I can still feel GREAT about myself because, well, IT IS NOT MY FAULT, it is, YOURS.
so to speak.
:-)
Some days I feel like my greatest lesson while teaching is telling a student you made this problem you are not a victim. The self created victim syndrome starts early! And hard to shake.
Which explains MUCH about the drumplican/MAGAcultfan (especially TFFP) penchant for bemoaning their victimization and pointing the finger anywhere but at themselves.
Not just the drumplicans. See today's interview with David Sirota, co-producer of Don't Look Up and The Daily Poster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjUOLkX4NSU
Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute
Supporting movements to get in right relationship with change
https://alliedmedia.org/speaker-projects/emergent-strategy-ideation-institute
Thanks Kathleen.
Thanks for the post. I found it at my local library and put it on hold.
I am not a historian but I have personally seen "tent revivals" down in East Texas with what even a 14 year old kid can identify as a huckster looking for money.
AND, I have seen preachers who grew horns during the week chasing the local women and then spew hellfire and damnation on Sunday.
Religious hucksterism in America is one of the founding principals of the country.
And, then? There is John Adams on the other side thank goodness.
Is fantasy not embedded in cultures older than ours? I think it is, maybe in various ways. I believe it's our "ultra-individualism" that mixes with characteristics such as fantastical thinking to create the good and the ugly that the U.S. has been.
One could argue, although many might disagree, that all of Religion is fantasyland. So, it is not JUST the United States mired in fantasy.
It is most of humanity.
In his fascinating book SAPIENS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMANKIND, Yuval Noah Harari calls many of humans' inventions--like religion, corporations, and money--fiction. I find that revelatory because it means we can reimagine and change those fictitious narratives.
Thanks! Got it yesterday and started reading last night.
Yes - thanks to Sandy Lewis for recommendation ...