3 chapters across the catalog
NPR reporting confirms that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to add a "moral tinge" to the war and recruit more soldiers for the Union. The hosts suggest that modern media outlets like NPR may be discrediting Lincoln now to counter the Republican Party's "Party of Lincoln" talking point.
Author and Stanford University fellow Shelby Steele provides the historical backdrop for the discussion, arguing that the delegitimization of white supremacy was a seminal event of the late 20th century. Steele defines white supremacy not just as a belief in racial hierarchy, but as a system where whiteness constituted inherent moral authority and power. He posits that this system organized the globe through colonialism before its eventual collapse.
Shelby Steele compares the stigma of being labeled a racist in America to the stigma faced by Germans after World War II. He argues that white guilt is not a matter of personal conscience but a "vacuum of moral authority" where individuals must constantly prove they are not racist. One host shares his experience growing up in the Netherlands and observing how "new Germans" attempted to atone for the Nazi era.
