Author Kurt Andersen asks a question about what went wrong in our country in his new book, Fantasyland: How American Went Haywire: A 500-Year History. Andersen thinks something has gone wrong, and he thinks it's embedded in the American DNA.
Andersen writes, "Why do we believe in conspiracy theories? Why do so many of us believe in magical thinking or have poor reasoning skills?" He also says, "Why are we like this? The short answer is because we’re Americans—because being American means we can believe anything we want; that our beliefs are equal or superior to anyone else’s, experts be damned. Once people commit to that approach, the world turns inside out, and no cause-and-effect connection is fixed. The credible becomes incredible and the incredible credible."
Andersen is tough on our history. He's our guest for the hour.
