History + History = Five? episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 18, 2022 · 36 MIN

History + History = Five?

from Plausibly Live - The Dave Bowman Show · host Dave Bowman

If you ask one  hundred Americans, who is the best American citizen of ALL time? I've never done that, but my guess is the overwhelming answer would be George Washington. There is an almost worshipful quality that we take towards him, perhaps with some  justification, as we have painted his deification onto the ceiling of our  Capitol Dome. We have a  corporate memory of him that fits both our need for the hero and our understanding of who we are as a people - perhaps flawed by strong. Here's the  question though, do we honestly believe that everybody who lived back then just loved and adored General Washington? Was there not... say... one, perhaps two  people who found him odious or even overbearing? James Madison is known to have disliked the Generals "coarse language" at times, but really, is there nothing worse thought of him, at all? The obvious answer is that of course there were those who not only disliked Washington, but worse, didn't trust him. So why have we ignored them and their versions of our history? It's eerily similar to O'Brien holding up four fingers and asking Winston smith, "How many  fingers do you see?" The answer is five...

If you ask one  hundred Americans, who is the best American citizen of ALL time? I've never done that, but my guess is the overwhelming answer would be George Washington. There is an almost worshipful quality that we take towards him, perhaps with some  justification, as we have painted his deification onto the ceiling of our  Capitol Dome. We have a  corporate memory of him that fits both our need for the hero and our understanding of who we are as a people - perhaps flawed by strong. Here's the  question though, do we honestly believe that everybody who lived back then just loved and adored General Washington? Was there not... say... one, perhaps two  people who found him odious or even overbearing? James Madison is known to have disliked the Generals "coarse language" at times, but really, is there nothing worse thought of him, at all? The obvious answer is that of course there were those who not only disliked Washington, but worse, didn't trust him. So why have we ignored them and their versions of our history? It's eerily similar to O'Brien holding up four fingers and asking Winston smith, "How many  fingers do you see?" The answer is five...

NOW PLAYING

History + History = Five?

0:00 36:57

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Plausibly Live - The Dave Bowman Show?

This episode is 36 minutes long.

When was this Plausibly Live - The Dave Bowman Show episode published?

This episode was published on October 18, 2022.

What is this episode about?

If you ask one  hundred Americans, who is the best American citizen of ALL time? I've never done that, but my guess is the overwhelming answer would be George Washington. There is an almost worshipful quality that we take towards him, perhaps with...

Can I download this Plausibly Live - The Dave Bowman Show episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!