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Mythic America

A list of 119 words by chained_bear.

About

I'm using "myth" NOT in the sense of "fiction" but of larger-than-life. This is not a list of important people or events in American history, or it would be much longer. It's a list of people, events, phrases, or anything else that has a mythic, legendary quality and exists in the collective American (meaning United States) subconscious.

Again, it isn't about famous people, no matter how great they were. Everything on this list is bigger than itself (himself/herself), the name or phrase itself conjures not only a period of time or an event, but at the root of its meaning, speaks to something in the "American character." (Whatever that is.) It isn't enough for a person to invoke myth, and lots of people are heroes of mythic stature within their specific fields. But to enter the American pantheon of mythic heroes, they'd have to have tapped into something even bigger and more enduring, and something we want to believe about ourselves or our country.

It's a difficult concept in my mind and I'm not articulating it well... I'll keep trying till it makes more sense.

Other lists that are kind of distantly related: Loaded Words and Loaded Words Part Deux. Those are for more politically-charged words and phrases (respectively).

Also, this seemed to belong somewhere around here, so here it is:
"And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope." (Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008) And this one: "We never hide from history. We make history." (John McCain, Nov. 4, 2008)

Mythic ideals in action.

Comments

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  • onomatomaniak Old Abe; Old Hickory; one-two punch; amazing grace; we, the people Jul 2, 2010

  • chained_bear Thanks whichbe, sorry about the delay. I put "Liberty Bell" on my Loaded Words Part Deux list--perfect addition!--and opted for "Lady Liberty" here rather than the statue, as the idea of the statue is what's mythological (rather than the physical object itself). Also, fbharjo, thanks for the suggestion, which I respectfully decline (see earlier conversation on this page). Apr 30, 2009

  • whichbe Statute of Liberty? Liberty Bell? Jan 10, 2009

  • fbharjo Kit Carson should be an addition to your list - a man who lived on many, many boundaries which is what myth is about.
    Oct 26, 2008

  • chained_bear Just to clarify, logos, I don't dispute that Copland's work invokes American mythology; just dispute that he himself belongs in the pantheon of American myths. Cheers! :) Aug 29, 2008

  • chained_bear Bingo. Thanks! Aug 29, 2008

  • Prolagus Gold rush? Aug 29, 2008

  • chained_bear I appreciate your suggestion and your enthusiasm for Aaron Copland, truly, but this is not a list of American mythology, and he just doesn't belong on it. Thanks anyway! (You're more than welcome to make yourself a great list of Aaron Copland terms, if you like!)

    Now, Billy the Kid, much as I dislike the man (and I know you weren't suggesting him but Copland's work), he definitely belongs here. Aug 29, 2008

  • super-logos And don't forget the following by Aaron Copland, a Jewish kid who became an American myth by epitomizingWASP Americana in terms of his musical oeuvre:

    Billy the Kid
    Rodeo
    Fanfare For The Common Man
    Appalachian Spring
    Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
    Our Town
    Quiet City
    and much more.

    No list of American mythology is complete without this man and his story. Aug 28, 2008

  • rolig Speaking of the 60s, what about flower power and make love not war? Aug 28, 2008

  • reesetee Got it--I think.

    *still thinking* Aug 28, 2008

  • chained_bear Aha! Work ethic and heartland maybe, the actual objects not so much. I think because the people/objects represent these larger concepts—it's more important than just "a work of art" precisely because it taps into something we already believe (or want to) about ourselves. I probably should have either made the list about concepts alone, or else left the concepts off, since now it's a mix of the concepts and the people/objects/events, and that's probably confusing. As long as they all tie together though...

    I'm a huge fan of Progressivism (the era), but I can't quite put my finger on the right word or words that would be "mythic" about it (populism, maybe). I thought about adding suffragists too, but refrained for that very reason. They aren't larger than life, but they do resonate nowadays. I think it's the civil disobedience aspect—from the Boston Tea Party to Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s (and beyond), Americans believe in the meaning and power of grass-roots protest. It either has to do with the sense of being rugged individualists who administer frontier justice, or with being a nation based only on the rule of law (our society is not made of any single ethnic, religious, or other group, but our nation holds together because of a set of ideas), but also a people who glorify rulebreakers.

    Aha! I just thought of one: Rosa Parks. Aug 28, 2008

  • reesetee Very cool list, c_b! Would something like "baseball and apple pie" fit here? Or American Gothic? I'm referring to the painting, but also to the ideas it came to represent: midwestern Puritanism, hard-working endurance, the American heartland, and so on.

    Oh, and another one: progressive era. Aug 28, 2008

  • rolig Oh, I did! Thanks for reminding me. I think she's the underground RR leader from Maryland. But how great is the name Sojourner Truth? Aug 28, 2008

  • chained_bear Don't forget Harriet Tubman. :) Aug 28, 2008

  • rolig "World-changing books" would make an excellent list.

    Your point about women and non-Caucasians is well taken. The standard history-book African-Americans, even back in the 1960s and 70s when I was in school, were Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass and George Washington Carver. Later I learned about the remarkable Sojourner Truth and the Underground Railroad, and the African-American astronomer and surveyor Benjamin Banneker, both of whom had Maryland roots, by the way, which is probably why they first interested me. Aug 28, 2008

  • chained_bear Yes, you're right about the dearth of females, and of people of color. Unfortunately most of the people who've achieved mythic status in our history are white men. But the concepts, such as pioneer spirit, melting pot, pilgrims, the American dream, and others certainly apply to both genders and all races/colors. Though most people don't automatically think "female" when they see the word "pioneer," I would argue that's the case with most non-gender-specific nouns.

    Something about this conversation sparked a question: does anyone remember a list called "books that changed the world" or something like that? I have a very vague memory of someone creating a list like that a long time ago, and I'd love to see it again. Or hell, make one myself. :) Aug 28, 2008

  • rolig How about Eleanor Roosevelt? She arrived late, perhaps, but her status is surely mythic, more so than her husband's, in my opinion. Sadly, through no fault of their own, the female population of Mythic America is rather small. That is partly why I suggested the first First Ladies.

    Your Paine Prosie is duly favorited. Aug 28, 2008

  • chained_bear Thanks rolig! I did forget Daniel Boone indeed; I also completely spaced manifest destiny! Good catch. As for the others... You cannot know how much I adore Thomas Paine, but I don't think he (nor his bones) belongs here, and while MW and AA are a couple of my favorite people in the universe, they don't quite achieve mythic status. Important, to be sure, but not quite larger than life.

    Still, your comment begins (hopefully!) the kind of history dork out debate I was hoping to start with this list! So thanks and keep them coming! Aug 28, 2008

  • rolig Chained_bear, I can't believe you forgot (or maybe just haven't listed yet) someone who "was a man, yes, a big man, with an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain was he…"

    Daniel Boone!

    And then there are our Founding Mothers: Martha Washington and Abigail Adams.
    And Thomas Paine.

    And why should that young man go west? Because it was his manifest destiny! Aug 28, 2008

  • chained_bear Well... that really isn't what I was aiming at, logos, but thanks anyway! Aug 28, 2008

  • super-logos Aaron Copland Aug 27, 2008

  • reesetee Heehee. Sometimes I like keeping an eye on the main page for that very reason. :-) Aug 27, 2008

  • chained_bear A fascinating mix of terms came up on the front page while reesetee was adding words to the Archie McPhee list at the same time I was adding them to this one. (Said words are posted on the other list page.) Aug 27, 2008