#1642 The Myths That Hold America Back

Listening to America

History, Politics, Unitedstates, Society & Culture, American

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

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Summary

Clay is joined by Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Casey Burgat to discuss a new book, We Hold These “Truths”: How to Spot the Myths That are Holding America Back. The book aims to tackle 13 myths at the core of political dysfunction: lobbyists are evil, Congress doesn’t do anything, the Supreme Court has become too political, and there is a demand that we keep politics out of sports. Clay and his guests try to make sense of how much weight they should give to the vision of the Founding Fathers, who Lindsay notes were not saints or Platonic sages but men (and a few women) who put together what they hoped would be a self-sustaining American republic. They grieve the death of civics education in America’s schools, without which we are all subject to political notions that may have no factual or historical basis. And no, says Casey Burgat, we do not want term limits for members of Congress.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, everyone, and welcome to this introduction to our podcast this week.
0:03.5	I'm Clay Jenkinson.
0:04.3	This week, Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Casey Burgett.
0:08.4	He's George Washington University, an assistant professor of political management.
0:14.2	And they are contributors to, and he's the editor of a new book, We Hold These Truths.
0:22.0	Truths is in quotes,
0:28.3	how to spot the myths that are holding America back. There are the following essays in it,
0:34.0	the founders in their infinite wisdom. I vote the issue is not the party. The president should just, members of Congress don't do anything. The Supreme Court has become too political.
0:40.3	Politicians are bought and paid for.
0:42.3	Lobbyists are evil.
0:44.3	Terminums will fix our broken Congress.
0:47.3	Bipartisanship is dead.
0:49.3	I wish parties would work together.
0:51.3	The filibuster forces compromise.
0:53.3	The media wants to polarize us,
0:56.2	keep your politics out of my sports. Different contributors, some of the members of Congress,
1:02.4	others scholars and professors and writers. Anyway, a fascinating conversation. We couldn't go into
1:09.9	great detail on all of this, but it really
1:12.1	was insightful, and I freely admit that I have succumbed to a number of these myths,
1:19.8	and I will try to be more rigorous in my thinking about it. It's always great to see Lindsay.
1:27.2	She's a fan favorite. She's my favorite.
1:31.3	And we've really become friends. We're going to be on stage together in Vale, Colorado at the end of March.
	...

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