Red, White and Blown: Is the United States of America a Cult?

by Guy Rundle

From renowned journalist Guy Rundle, Red, White and Blown is a piercing and provocative investigation into the United States' resolute failure to reckon with its own divisions and blind spots. Interrogating the political events of the 2022 midterm elections as well as their cultural and historical backdrop, this latest book from the Crikey Reads series asks us to frankly consider the US for what it may have ultimately a cult. 

From the Orange People in Oregon to the Moonies with their stadium weddings, the US is a country where cults have easily taken a foothold since the 1970s. But do those crazed origins stem much further back? Could the US perhaps itself be likened to a cult – one that has acquired immense power and imposed its vision on millions, but has now found its impossible fantasy collapsing from within, prompting it to do what cults always  believe in magic and look for enemies? 

With this necessary and fresh perspective, Rundle allows us to slot the inexplicable nature of the US into place. Red, White and Blown gives the Australian reader a tour through the embattled republic and poses a why are we slavishly attaching ourselves to a potential cult, when we have so far successfully avoided the very things that have made the US so? 

From Crikey and Hardie Grant Books, The Crikey Read is a series that brings an unflinching and truly independent eye to the issues of the day in Australia and the world. 

Genres: Politics

141 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2023

Reviews

[Leena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it. There is so much to pull apart, which will only lead to some very interesting reads.

"Recourse to the extraordinary American mythos of independence and revolution merely makes you feel more inadequate in a society whose subsequent trajectory- the development of a relentless and unforgiving capitalism- has created a culture which, to some extent, relies on the annihilation of the poor and failed to give a full meaning to the lives of the powerful and rich".

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting theory. Is America a cult with a nation attached? His ideas are interesting but often not backed up with logical arguments let alone evidence. This short book is like an introduction to his topic. It's all opinions. I'm inclined to agree with his assertions but would love to read a much longer book by this author on the same topic.

[Arthur Cravan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75. Recommended to me by my brother. I said I'd read it if he reads (the shorter) 'Capitalist Realism' by Mark Fisher. He said it was a deal. I'm writing this four months later, & so far, he's making deals the same way capitalist realists do.

Given its brevity, well worth reading. Some strange factual errors ('strange' in that we're in The Modern World & the dude is spelling celebrity's names wrong & giving incorrect goss on celebs & I'm really not someone who follows that world much & I honest to God couldn't name you a reality TV show that is currently airing - or if on-air TV is even still a thing? I think it is? Or are we all just streaming now? I know I sound like a combative octogenarian but I honestly don't know! But even I was like "wut? Dude, you doing it wrong, I thought youse a journalist or some shit") but he makes a lot of interesting points. I think I disagree, depending on how literally you choose to take it (I feel like he was making his point pretty literally) with his main hypothesis - that the USA is a cult - though I did enjoy his history lessons, &, like I said, I feel like I believe in all the ingredients that go into his theory, just not in the final dish he whips up as CDC of the USA. Seems hyperbolic.

Positive review. I would read more books by this guy. Rundle. Seems like a cool dude.