Heritage vs. Creed: What Actually Makes You an American?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e5PLKhXvF0 Podcast audio: In this episode of the Ayn Rand Institute podcast, Ben Bayer and Onkar Ghate discuss whether heritage or creed is what defines American national identity. The American way and sense of life Un-American “Heritage Americanism” Irrelevant Anglo-Protestant “ethnicity” Superior “Creedal Americanism” History of “Creedal Americanism” The eroding American sense of life Resources: Ayn Rand, Don’t Let It Go, in Philosophy: Who Needs It Ayn Rand, “A Nation’s Unity” Onkar Ghate, “Atlas Shrugged: America’s Second Declaration of Independence” Ben Bayer, “Our Iran Appeasement Reveals the Need to Declare Moral Independence,” New Ideal, July 1, 2026. Ben Bayer, “The Revolutionary, Secular Concept of Individual Rights” OCON 2024 This episode was recorded on July 10, 2026. Image credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images