28: Maxwell Meyer - Starships & Road Trips

The best way to summarize it is an addiction to cliché. Clichés are the easiest way to tell stories, so relying on what you've already said is very easy. When the media reacted to Starship, the easiest cliché was to focus on the rocket exploding, just like everyone else saw. They then reached for the previous narrative: Musk being erratic or personally offensive. They conflated these two things instead of looking deeper. As for national celebrations, I don't know the answer. We still have national celebrations and areas of consensus, but they might not be obvious in this highly polarized information sphere.

Our point about criticism is really about trust. Going back to the SpaceX example, many journalists writing headlines that day seemed to value their witty criticisms more than the exploding rocket itself. Our firm principle is that the exploding rocket is a thousand times more valuable than any negative headline. This is how we establish trust. American propaganda is our mission, not just a process or a rule. It's the idea that some things are so fundamental we take them for granted. We are on America's side; we are truly excited about the country.

Clichés often fail to accurately describe reality. We focus on first principles, like Marcus Aurelius's idea: "What is the thing in itself?" A good example is "show, don't tell." People are wary of declarations. A skilled writer can convey their thesis or argument simply by describing the subject. Therefore, a crucial rule for us is that describing entrepreneurs' work is sufficient. You don't need to editorialize for readers to grasp its importance; the thesis should speak for itself. This approach also helps us avoid embarrassment from overly praising certain behaviors or individuals. By grounding our discussions in the work and missions, such issues are naturally avoided.

Tocqueville, a French nobleman, visited the United States in the 1810s, specifically around 1813. This was within the Republic's first 30 years, shortly after the Constitution's ratification in 1787. While in New England, Tocqueville observed Americans' obsession with communal enterprises and participation in local government. New England, at that time, was arguably the most politically mature of the American states, with densely packed villages that had existed for centuries and a strong legislative tradition, particularly in Massachusetts. He noted Americans' love for enterprise and their willingness to collaborate on shared goals. They were far more inclined to organize small political entities or organizations among equal citizens than other groups he had encountered, where rich and poor would work or discuss matters together in councils.

Sometimes it's 15 or 20 generations. I don't know who the oldest stock in America is; it might be approaching 20 generations. Everyone left somewhere. America is a younger society than most places in Europe or Asia. Japan and China have thousands of years of continuity. While some European states are new, many have existed for a long time. This is the spiritual point: everyone in America left somewhere for somewhere else. This defined the waves of immigrants who arrived: the Irish, Italians, Germans, and Jews. The original settlers in New England, the Pilgrims, were fleeing religious oppression in the United Kingdom. You have other similar characters. The practical observation is that Americans literally move around more than other people. This is a proven sociological phenomenon. Americans tend to grow up further away from their birthplace compared to those in other countries.

Objectively, this system achieves the goals of people across the spectrum better than any other. Consider a few left-wing values: health, relative equality, welfare, and safety. For the right, you have religious freedom and intact families. Despite some wrinkles, America still excels at achieving these goals compared to other systems. If people aren't interested in high-risk approaches to life, America can sometimes be disappointing. The challenge lies in finding the energy to seize opportunities.

Mostly, it's to avoid mass killings. I love this definition; it's one of the best things I've ever come up with. For millennia, if you wanted something someone else had, you'd just go kill, rape, and pillage their village. This was how you advanced your status in warring societies. This isn't to defend everything that happens within a system, which is often what hardcore activist types on the left argue. They ask, "Do you defend every single thing that happens? Do you defend insurance companies denying claims?" And my answer is yes, because I'd much rather have that than a commissar deciding to kill me.