As we delve into America in this pivotal election year, grappling with its geopolitical challenges, culture wars, and internal conflicts, Evan Solomon makes a crucial point: discussing America as a monolith is a common mistake—it's simply too vast and diverse. In today's infotainment era, narratives are no longer neatly collected but instead compete and diverge. This week, we're exploring the connections between nativism in the 1850s, the ongoing religious and cultural struggles, and the current display of nativism within the Republican Party. Tad Homer Dixon's definition of culture as a set of instructions passed from one generation to the next resonates strongly here. Once, those in power dictated cultural norms, but today, the power to shape discourse and culture is distributed among everyone. This dynamic shift is palpable in America, where we've moved from a uniform cultural landscape to one defined by diverse narratives. We're witnessing this shift firsthand with the rise of Christian Nationalism, which is being imported from Russia and fusing with nativism. The question now is whether this represents a new force in the US or merely a passing trend. Let's watch closely to see where this leads. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.