That is what Nan at “American Daughter” is attempting. She has posted the entire article from which this clipping was taken. Steve Haas, a popular essayist, laments the loss of our American cultural identity which seems to have happened sometime in the last fifty years. It is probably my fault, as I was alive and kicking all that time. And I do remember prior to that time, believe it or not, when my heroes were always cowboys. There was Hopalong, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Dale.

Every nation has a history, and every nation’s history has an era that defines that nation; when the people of that nation think of themselves, that moment of glory is how they think of themselves as a member of that nation….

The unique aspect of the American mythos is its emphasis on goodness. …. Americans have always seen themselves as good people, more so than most other cultures. In fact, Americans have often been reviled by the more ‘sophisticated’ Europeans for their naivety. To us it is our strength, to Europe it is our weakness.

One of the most popular American television shows in the 1950’s was “Father Knows Best,” starring Robert Young, Jane Wyman, Elinor Donahue, Billy Grey and Lauren Chapin. This was a show about an idealized 1950 American family; the father was all-knowing, the mother was the perfect housekeeper and the children, while sometimes naughty, tried their best to be good. This television show was an outgrowth of this ‘good’ self-image that Americans believed truly reflected their society. It defined the iconic family for millions of Americans of the time, forming an ideal for which a good part of America strived….