Jon Meacham vs. Frank Li: Truth in America

Written by Frank Li

Both Jon Meacham and I recently talked about “truth in America” from a historical perspective. Our works are complementary in that Meacham went back by a few decades, without touching America’s foundation, while I went back all the way to the founding days, profoundly challenging America, foundationally …

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1. Who is Jon Meacham?

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Jon Meacham.

Jon Ellis Meacham (/ˈmiËtʃəm/; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer. A former executive editor and executive vice president at Random House, he is a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor to Time magazine, and a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He is the author of several books. He won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. He holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Endowed Chair in American Presidency at Vanderbilt University.

2. Me

Read My American Dream Has Come True (Version 3)!

3. “Fate of Fact”

Read Jon Meacham to explore the spread of disinformation in “Fate of Fact”.

Listen to this podcast: Welcome to Fate of Fact. It has four episodes, so far.

4. Meacham’s works

Most, if not all, of Meacham’s works are excellent, especially by the “traditional standard”. “Fate of Fact” is no exception.

What is the “traditional standard”?

Many respected American historians like Jon Meacham are boxed in two major aspects, at least:

1. No serious comparison between America and China, whose dramatic comeback over the past few decades has upended almost everything in the West, from politics to economics.
2. No doubt about either America’s foundation or American democracy.

As a result, Meacham’s “Fate of Fact” is still very shallow, especially when compared with my works …

5. My works

I am unboxed, totally!

Here is my overall position on “truth in America”:

Specifically, three highlights:

1. America was founded by/of/for the rich, on a bunch of lies, from “all men are created equal” to “We the People”. Now, if you regard these slogans as ideals, here is my warning: they are even worse than communism!
2. America remains essentially unchanged over the past 200 years. It therefore remains a country by/of/for the rich, with money behind everything, especially in politics.
3. Western Liberal Democracy Is a Lie!

6. Discussion

America, give up on democracy as soon as possible!

For a country built to last, meritocracy is the key, which is the open secret behind China’s long-enduring civilization.

America, learn from China, especially political reforms at home, instead of desperately trying to slow her down by constantly throwing rocks at her or even to contain her via a stupid practice like “Quad” (Blinken to hold virtual ‘Quad’ meeting with Australia, India, Japan).

America, stop treating today’s America as an abreaction while regarding the past of the 1950-1990s as the “normal”. The truth is the other way around!

7. Closing

Truth matters!

American disinformation did not start in the 1960s or 1970s, as Meacham has examined. Instead, it started with the birth of America, as I have pursued …

Suggestion: First listen to Jon Meacham’s “Fate of Fact“, then read my book: History 2.0 – China’s Comeback vs. America’s Decline.

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