Is the American experiment doomed?

A 3-part talk with Colin Woodard, who made us see the U.S. differently with his breakthrough book, American Nations.

Last week, I talked to Colin Woodard, who changed the way I look at this country with his 2011 book, “American Nations.” I talked about it a bit in my COVID reading list from a few weeks ago.

I had one question for Woodard: Can we survive as a nation?

He said he didn’t know. It didn’t look great. But he was hopeful.

Gulp.

Below are four choices for you to listen to this podcast: in three 10(ish)-minute intervals, or all at once.

In Part 1, Woodard talks about how much we currently look like the 1850s. “Americans should be concerned. Complacency is the most dangerous thing of all in a time like this.”

He also notes, “The union won the Civil War, but they lost the peace” after the end of Reconstruction. In many ways, we are still fighting that first Civil War.

In Part 2, we talk about the anger people feel at being nickled and dimed, but they don’t necessarily understand where that started. Woodard notes that it started in deregulations in the 1980s, which created pseudo monopolies in things like cell phones, cable companies, airlines. And with that, a feeling that we had no control over our lives.

“There’s a sense that you’re being cheated,” Woodard said.

That leaves open the rise of authoritarians. And let’s not forget, this chaos was started on purpose with Newt Gingrich.

Woodard also says we have a “secret power,” that might protect us from the fate of the former Yugoslavia: We have an American story and ethos that is rooted deep in our history. We have to get back to telling our national story, rather than follow nationalist tendencies. One brings us together. The other tears us apart.

In Part 3, Woodard and I talk about who can lead us out of this mess, and hold the country together.

“The bad side of The Force has built rapidly through coordinated and organized information systems,” Woodard said. “We know from the success of MAGA is how you can take and move huge numbers of people into your camp. One can do that for good American values.”

He also notes that leaving everything to states will likely lead to civil war. He’s hoping the states can change Congress - and that politicians will listen.

“There’s no reason the defense of the American experiment should be a Republican or Democratic issue.”

Here is the full, 30-minute version of the podcast for you to listen to.