Myths and Constructions--Build on Keith's "Capitalism/Self-Reliance/Drug-Hyperlinks"

                In Keith’s “Capitalism/Self-Reliance/Drug-Hyperlinks” post he states something brilliant while reflecting on the Coontz, Currie, and “Capitalism Hits the Fan” texts. Keith notes that “There are various myths within United States history that we [are] exposed to in our history classes. Depending on your education later in life you either buy into them or you learn that just as everything you are exposed to in life the reality is quite a bit different from what you are taught”. I note that this is brilliant because he is gesturing towards the constructed nature of our history. This is not something that everyone is willing to admit or even see. However, many texts in this course have shown us just that, particularly the Coontz article.

                We are constantly being fed particular myths that we are supposed to believe are fact. We are taught a history that we are supposed to believe is fixed. But history is not fixed. History is relative. People are generally willing to admit this to an extent; they’re inclined to scoff at some of the Southern text books that call the Civil War the “War of Northern Aggression”. But, more often than not, those some people don’t seem to be aware that much of what we read is constructed. So much of the past that we are led to believe is “reality” is not. What is reality, even? Are any one of us so sure? We are constantly reading texts that make it clear to us that our foundation (our history) is actually not what we once thought it was. If our foundation is put into question then shouldn’t our reality be as well?

                We are taught that people pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. That’s how the middle/upper class made it. That’s how the moguls of the past became who they are. But, as Coontz notes in “We Always Stood on Our Own Two Feet: Self-reliance and the American Family”, that is not the case. The middle class family with the picket fence, nice yard, 2.5 kids and a golden retriever didn’t just work hard to get there. There were many subsidies put into place to ensure their mobility, and the reverse is also true. There were many policies put into place to ensure that some people would not be able to experience upward mobility. That is our history. Those are the facts. We are not a country built by hard-working, self-reliant, folks with entrepreneurial spirit. We are a country that was built on community (even if that community had always been exclusionary). Somewhere along the way we lost even that exclusionary community and we are left with a country that believes solely in the individual, not the collective. They believe in the individual so much that they turn a blind eye to the ways in which aid has been received, and is still being received, to help people “better” themselves.