Addendum on National Myths  I've been away from here for a few
days, but was glad to see Grim raising that topic of perennial
importance: national myths. The highly successful (the Chinese
have one of the most successful national myths in the world; and
their beastly treatment of the Uighurs and Tibetans comes along
with it), the once successful (for I can dimly remember a time
when public schools in this country taught an American national
myth, and I've read enough old things to know it was once very
strong), and the decidedly troubled.  Now, what Grim's saying in
these discussions, and especially in the second one, I entirely
agree with. In fact, if I had to pick a single factor that
really makes a recognizable "people," a national myth is that
factor. A common language helps; a common government helps; a
common religion helps; but it is the national myth (that may
well be bound up with all these things) that really does the
trick.  Michael Totten has two recent posts, highly apropos. To
the first. In this