Part 6/9:
Drawing a parallel to John Wayne’s The Searchers, where the closing of the Western frontier symbolizes the end of American rugged individualism, the author argues that today’s cultural climate feels like a door closing on the values that once defined the American identity. He links this to modern political rhetoric—claims that America was never great, and accusations of systemic racism—that suggest a narrative where the nation’s founding principles are being dismissed or undermined.