Exactly, as you say, "by Rorty's narrative route or by Bucky's, we have a USA to look back on with some pride in its contribution to what we have today, going forward." That old-school liberalism or what today might be called Obama-style centrism is economically neoliberal and in line with the corporate takeover of the Democratic party, so it gave the Republicans the room to demagogue the working class, which led to the abomination of the Trump cult. Relenting to Gingrich's populism, Bill Clinton's triangulation started that slide, as I write in the article below.
I wonder what Rorty would have said about how Obama handled the 2008 financial crisis that resulted in moral hazard and how Obama chose not to use that crisis as an opportunity to be revolutionary like FDR. "Liberalism" as propaganda for the top one percent?
Or would Rorty still have been proud of America during the Trumpian fiasco/nightmare?
The problem is the solidarity vs objectivity thing. In my view, we should be secular humanists and should be proud of personhood in the big picture of history. Pride in our country, though, is lame and will depend on propaganda (noble lies). By contrast, humanism is based on the scientifically ascertained differences between people and animals (plus an existential response to life's absurdity).
