This week we visit with dr. Brian Garcia of Long Beach, CA. We take a tour of American literary history in the post revolutionary period. How did the early artists of our nation compete on the definition of America. How did Europe and European identity force some of the development of what it means to be an America? They were surely not interested in Kings named George on American soil. national identity is a series of stories that we tell ourselves. In that process folks often cite texts they have not read, thus elevating the symbolism over its substance. We mention my article in the journal critical muslim on the nature of closed minds among western muslims as well as the infamous Shaikh McScrooge khutbah at the Islamic center of Southern California. Despite our insistence that nations are social constructs, they are very real. So real that people die for it as an idea. So, how can we build a bridge between American nationalisms? Can we remain hopeful despite lacking optimism? Did you know that Washington Irving has an office in the al Hambra? America has a major cultural inferiority complex that stayed with us from the founding era. At the outset of our nation's literary life, much of the discourse developed like 90s hip hop beefs. The Nassars. Travels around the world. Our Blackstar story. Authoritarianism and the mythology of American supremacy.