I Remember When America was Good

I’m reminded of a post of mine from a few years back, when one of our resident wingnuts accused me of blaming America just because. The larger point is that while America has usually been far from its ideals, I think the myth of America’s goodness is a useful one, because some of us who buy into the myth and then find that America doesn’t live up to it, will respond by insisting that America become the good nation it’s supposed to be.

That insistence may at times sound overly critical of America, but IMHO the problem is when America fails to live up to its ideals, not when it’s criticized for that failure.

Footnote: I got the Nicaragua date wrong; it was 1990, not 1987.