Mythology

 I "do" Columbus Day every year and I usually "do" Thanksgiving, but I skipped it this year because everybody already knows that the story about the Pilgrims and the Indians giving thanks together is total bullshit. Believe me, right then the Indians had nothing to be thankful for. Squanto, the purported protagonist, had just returned from being enslaved in Europe to find his entire community dead. 

 

Anyway, I'm going to "do" Christmas on Sunday, a bit prematurely but that's when it comes up on my personal liturgical calendar. All of this is occasion to reflect on the role and importance of mythology. A nation is in essence an imaginary community. The U.S. consists of more than 347 million people who you don't know, maybe a few dozen who you do, and however many more you see on TV. What makes them all people you have something in common with, maybe something you have a bumper sticker that says you're "proud" to be a part of, is a bunch of stories you believe in, or pretend to believe in. 

 

The U.S. is a pluralistic society, which means that people who consider themselves to be American (or we should better say United Statesian) don't necessarily all believe the same stories. Different groups of people can equally feel American even though they're narrative portfolios aren't all the same. It seems that many people just can't process complicated stories that make them feel uncomfortable, which is why the current administration is trying to purge them from our collective consciousness, to please its cultists who apparently cannot comprehend complexity. However, Keep It Simple Stupid is a command I am just not equipped to obey. So I'm going to keep it complicated.