America, War, and the Myths We Still Believe (#321)

What if one of the things Americans believe most deeply about America simply isn’t true? Americans have a powerful story about who they are and why America acts when it does. Historian Robert Kagan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, says America's own history tells a very different story. He discusses: ● The biggest myth Americans believe about their own country ● What American history looks like when you strip that myth away ● Why America keeps doing something it insists it doesn’t want to do ● Whether America’s wars were really forced upon it ● The unexpected connection between American power and the threats America faces ● What China and Russia may understand about America that Americans don’t ● What happens if America turns inward again What if the biggest thing Americans misunderstand about their role in the world isn’t the world? It’s America.