Steve McIntosh: Reconciling American Pride and Shame

Thinking Ahead with Carter Phipps

Regular listeners of this podcast or those who have followed my work over the years will recognize the name Steve McIntosh. Steve and I have been collaborating for almost two decades, including as coauthors (with John Mackey) of Conscious Leadership and cofounders of the Institute for Cultural Evolution. He is also a regular guest on this show. In this episode, we reflect on the current progressive inclination to highlight the wrongs of America's past, in contrast to traditional patriotism. Certainly, there's much to be ashamed of in our nation's historical record, especially the horrors of slavery, segregation, and the violence perpetrated against Native American populations. But should we allow that shame to eclipse any expression of national pride? Inspired by Steve's recent article "The Politics of Pride and Shame: Integrating 1776 and 1619," this conversation explores a potent cultural polarity and asks how we might come to a more integrated synthesis. As always, Steve brings a historically informed, culturally intelligent, and philosophically nuanced perspective to the topic.

Here are a couple of links to items referenced in our conversation:

Steve's recent article "The Politics of Pride and Shame: Integrating 1776 and 1619"

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