I had never thought of that - that the people who came to settle in America were the believers, people willing to follow a dream be it of gold or paradise. Here in Australia the first settlers were out of England's jails. Perhaps that has become part of the Aussie spirit - a certain pragmatism in the face of harsh conditions.
But times change - America like Australia has had further waves of immigration. Our infrastructure is pretty much overwhelmed tho still there. I expect Canada is in better shape due to distance and snow. We've all produced a lot of wealth for the West due to taking a whole country from an indigenous people and not having to give it back. Times do change don't they, it all feels a bit like the Cheshire Cat's smile now.
Incidentally on the topic of migrations, I'm not sure if this is correct or not but it probably is - the first contact the West had with Islam was when they invaded and conquered Spain and it was awful for Jews and Christians, with lots of crucifying and beheading going on as well as extra taxes and there was a suicidal group of Christians who went round publicly insulting the prophet knowing they would be killed for it.
Back to the podcast with the author, I liked his idea of a reality base that can increase or be eroded and I thought it was quite funny the struggle he had with his affection for his Puritan roots v Sam Harris making him toe the line of non-religion.
I don't think I'd enjoy his book much. He talks about a woman who splintered off from the Puritans and her idea of you feel it you believe it which is an idea that can go in different ways and it took Sam Harris to interject and point out that she was an entrepreneurial cult leader not an honest thinker.
