I enjoyed “The Power of Myth” not so much for the myths it described, but for its explanation of humankind’s apparent need for myths and the individual and social power(s) that are bound to myths. Myths’ powers can perhaps be analogized to the power of Metonymy in which a word or phrase is substituted for “the real deal”.
In these United States, many learn the nation state’s origin myth by way of the public education system’s presentation of European explorers discovering a “New World” and then creating a new “nation”. While the story-line is false (many peoples did, after all, populate the American continents), it is a pre-requisite for maintaining a nation of “Americans” for without its authority, the power relationships within the U.S. are exposed to involve nothing but an Emperor who has no clothes.
Given that the “Founding Fathers” came from White European Male-dominated Christendom with the initial colonies being commercial enterprises holding governmental power, it is little wonder that today we see business and government in bed together, along with a significant "Christian" influence. This is little more than feudal enterprise, a matter that has remained unchanged as regards three foundational elements of any “nation”: A productive population that supports a protective service (i.e., the military) with the protective service and the population arguably being controlled by individuals holding the powers of governance.
A “truth” might be arrived at by critically analyzing exactly who comprises “We, the people”.
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