American Mythology, Part I
Posted originally at Fabletown.com.
I have been thinking a lot lately about mythology of different world cultures, and I began to consider the fact that America is most likely the only culture in the world that does not have its own mythology.
But then I realised that that is simply not true. America has its own mythology just as much as any other culture. And it concerns, as many mythologies do, the origin of our country.
Has anyone else here read Bill Bryson's Made In America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States? If not, I sincerely recommend it to anyone who is interested in languages and history. Not only does it cover the American language, it also covers the history of our nation, from the earliest Europeans who set foot here (most likely the Vikings). Also it separates historical fact from American mythology; you would be surprised at how much is taught in American schools as fact about our origins that is simply mythology. For example, I was reading over a topic in this forum and found this:
Charles Reed wrote: For example, Thomas Jefferson was a great American. He wrote some of the most important documents in some of the most crucial years that our nation has ever faced. And though Thomas Jefferson wrote the words that would help define us ("We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."), ....
Actually, Thomas Jefferson did not write those words. Nor was he eager to do so. He was only a replacement for the man who was supposed to attend the Continental Congress as a delegate from Virginia, in order to declare independence, and he took the job of drafting the Declaration (along with four other men, who gave the task to him as the most junior member) rather reluctantly. Granted, the simplicity and eloquence of the first sentence of the Declaration was all his, but most of the rest had to be severely edited; a short look at his original version reveals that this was a good thing. As for the statement in question,
Thomas Jefferson wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,"
these words were only a paraphrase of a similar statement from Virginia's Constitution (which, by the way, Jefferson was far more interested in having a hand in writing than in the Declaration of Independence, though he never got to do so).
This is only one myth of America's origin, and a small one; and it was retold here from memory. There are many, many more. Unfortunately, I've already checked back in the Bryson book, so I don't have it handy for reference. But perhaps I will check the book out from the library again, and post more here, later.