American Myths Part One: Origins

In this episode we take a closer look at four well-worn stories: that of Christopher Columbus, Pocahontas, the Pilgrims and Puritans and the Founding Fathers and ask what is actually true. They're our foundational origin myths, but why? And since when? Author Heike Paul, author of The Myths That Made America, is our guide.

• CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more!
• To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro.
• Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it!

An excellent explanation

I stumbled on to Civics 101 several months ago, and I have yet to be disappointed. This episode is no different, and it is something I am extremely interested in. Sidebar, if you haven’t heard the Magna Carta episode, please do. It’s one of the many podcasts on Civics 101 that I have laughed while listening to.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) the first time, I actually begin to question the role of the “founding fathers” and how revered they were, it was when I listened to a Daniel Tosh stand-up comedy bit. I think it was something to the tune of “I love how it’s the 21st century and we’re still not allowed to ‘crap’ on the Founding Fathers. Why not, they were a bunch of racist with a handful of good ideas.”

Obviously, that’s a bit of a stark outlook, but it does make you question why, almost 300 years later, it is difficult to criticize the framers, without invoking some sort of nationalistic vitriol.

If you are looking for an academic explanation, you’ve found it. I love the tone of this episode. It’s not criticizing, it’s not shaming, it’s just clinically explaining where these myths come from, and how they have shaped our point of view in the 21st-century (and how they contributed to the many ills of our history that we now have to contend with).

Maybe, just maybe, we can read about these myths, understand them, and then realize they are of no use to us anymore. Recognize them as fun stories, a bit of historical perspective, and then move on to a better and brighter future. Just as we don’t celebrate Zeus, Aphrodite, and Apollo in our daily life, nor worship them, we should not review our statesman and politicians, who, are humans… fundamentally, flawed, doing the best they could in the circumstances they were in, shaped by the political and social atmosphere of the time.