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Your faithful co-hosts decided to share some reflections on the nation’s 250th birthday on July 4.
We begin by looking back at four of our Lost Prophets with something to say about the 1976 bicentennial: James Baldwin, Hannah Arendt, Dorothy Day, and Christopher Lasch. All were pretty somber, as was the case with the two other celebrations, in 1876 (Reconstruction is being dismantled) and 1926 (the Klan is ascendant).
We then take up several authors with theories about the Founding, the need for a re-founding, and even a recommendation for a change in the national anthem — let’s ditch the unsingable Star-Spangled Banner for the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro & announcements
06:45 James Baldwin, "Looking for the Bicentennial Man"
09:30 Hannah Arendt, "Home to Roost"
16:00 Dorothy Day, "Bread for the Poor"
21:00 Christopher Lasch, "The Narcissist Society"
27:15 Arendt's On Revolution and the social question
32:15 Garry Wills on Lincoln at Gettysburg
36:15 Kermit Roosevelt III on The Nation That Never Was
39:45 Fred Dewey, "Calling All Freedom Ancestors"
44:15 The World Cup comes to Lawrence, Kansas
Recommended:
James Baldwin, “Looking for the Bicentennial Man”
Dorothy Day, “Bread for the Poor” speech at 41st Eucharistic Congress (Philadelphia)
Hannah Arendt, “Home to Roost: A Bicentennial Address”
Hannah Arendt, On Revolution
Christopher Lasch, “The Narcissist Society”
Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism
Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg
Kermit Roosevelt III, The Nation That Never Was
Osita Nwanevu, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding
Fred Dewey, Without the Consent of the People
Walt Whitman, “For You O Democracy”
Our episode on the prophetic with the late great Marc H. Ellis
Related to these themes, watch for forthcoming Lost Prophets episodes on Hannah Arendt!
And as always, thank you to the great NOBLE DUST for providing the show’s music
