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"The town did not erect a statue in his honor. All the myths he believed in would crystallize into even greater mythology in future years and become weapons of war used by politicians and evildoers to kill defenseless schoolchildren by the dozens so that a few rich men spouting the same mythology that Doc spouted could buy islands that held more riches than the town of Pottstown had or would ever have. Gigantic yachts that would sail the world and pollute the waters and skies, owned by men creating great companies that made weapons of great power in factories that employed the poor, weapons that were sold cheaply enough so that the poor could purchase them and kill one another. Any man could buy one and walk into schools and bring death to dozens of children and teachers and anyone else stupid enough to believe in all that American mythology of hope, freedom, equality, and justice. The problem was always, and would always be, the n****** and the poor—and foolish white people who felt sorry for them."

This quote appears in Chapter 29, after Doc Roberts drowns in the well at the Clover Dairy. McBride examines the ways in which the bigotry inherent in characters like Doc and Gus connects to larger, real-world battles against diversity and cultural differences. The perceived, amorphous threats from minority communities—threats that were never truly present—become solidified as key components of dominant American culture. That bigotry grows into a foundational and critical element of American mythology, which, in turn, feeds into systemic and institutionalized discrimination. This mythology reflects who holds power, and how the harmful actions of those in power are rooted in the very ideologies that influence characters like Doc and Gus. The quote suggests that buying into this mythology and idolizing American values of "hope, freedom, equality, and justice" is naive, as the system is rigged so that the blame always falls on the outcast and the "other."

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