Understanding the Victim Cult

The idea of a "national conversation" has never made much sense to me. 300 million people shouting over one another sounds unproductive at best, and yet, if we were ever able to have a civil "national conversation," I propose that the very top of the agenda would be the question of how we teach our history to future generations of Americans.The recent controversy around the teaching of Critical Race Theory in elementary schools has pitted parents against teachers, old against young, and black against white in many communities. Many Americans are upset by the concepts being taught, but fail to articulate what is wrong with talking about the darker aspects of our history, from slavery to colonialism.My guest this Sunday was [Mark Milke, Ph.D.](https://markmilke.com/about) – a Canadian author, policy analyst and columnist – who has written the definitive book to guide our national conversation on victimhood, while still grappling with America's past sins. *[The Victim Cult: How the culture of blame hurts everyone & wrecks civilization](https://markmilke.com/the-victim-cult)* takes readers beyond the tired arguments of conservative culture warriors, while exposing what's *really* wrong with the modern trend of "grievance culture," that has infected everything from history curricula to identity politics.[The Victim Cult - Mark Milke](https://markmilke.com/the-victim-cult)However, the victim cult itself is not a new phenomenon. Its origins go all the way back to the beginnings of humanity itself. Can we rid ourselves of the temptations toward blame and self-pity before it destroys American civilization as we know it?