10 things to celebrate Why I'm an anti-anti-American

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | June 29th 2003 | Dinesh D'Souza

[nyconse]

America is under attack as never before -- not only from terrorists but also from people who provide a justification for terrorism. Islamic fundamentalists declare America the Great Satan. Europeans rail against American capitalism and American culture. South American activists denounce the United States for "neocolonialism" and oppression.

[radical librarian]

Saving for later read

[IGOTMINE]

Magnificent first post. Well done, rookie!

[AmishDude]

Only in America could Pierre Omidyar, whose parents are Iranian and who grew up in Paris, have started a company like eBay.

Ouch, talk about starting out with two strikes against you!

[dufekin]

Medieval Islam was in many ways civilized and much freer than most Arab-world countries today, Israel excepted. In the medieval days, there actually was an Arab intellectual class that didn't find itself killed. Arab societies have taken several steps backward since their medieval splendor.

[nyconse]

My Mother-in-Law was a remarkable woman. Both my husband's parents worked very hard. They never made a great deal of money, but they raised and educated four great children: especially my husband (I'm not prejudiced). They came for the peace and freedom offered by America. Several of my husband's cousins died in the Irish troubles in the 1970's. As I recall, they returned only once to visit Ireland; the trip was an anniversary gift from their four children.

[nyconse]

It is not my first post. It is my 3rd post. I am afraid I posted the others incorrectly also. Oh well.... thanks for setting me straight.

[ThreePuttinDude]

I've known people that were born in Eastern Europe,and when asked of their country, they would reply in that coarse accent, "Why I'm an American, what do you think?"

To see the light in someones eyes that have just been granted citizenship is to really see the Rights of Freedom.

[jla]

My paternal grandparents were also from Ireland.
It appears grandad Patrick retained his liking for socialism as he named my dad after Eugene Debs & my uncle, (no kidding), after Karl Marx.
Thank God I was born last & my mom named me! LOL

[TalBlack]

The Soviet Union also broadcast the documentary, with a view to embarrassing the Reagan administration.



See how out of touch the elites of Soviet Russia were with the people? How do you not see such a result coming?

This separation blindness is analogous to the SCOTUS in late times.

[Brian Allen]

<< This is a great read. Americans are not always born in this country. We are truly blessed by the arrival of those who choose to love America. >>

I'll say we are!

If you're asking me where I was born, I was born in New Zealand.

But if you want to know who and what I am, I am AMERICAN!

Thank God!

[nyconse]

What a great post. America has been blessed by people -like you- who may not have been born in America, but were born to be Americans; you have a heart as big as....well Texas! LOL

[nyconse]

Well put- it is so true. My husband's parents were not well educated: never went to High School. They studied hard in order to become citizens. They took pictures of the ceremony. It brings tears to my eyes when I see those ceremonies.

[henderson field]

Who are they?

[bboop]

Isn't 'the whole article' in this case really D'Souza's book, What's So Great About America? It is a fine book, as are all of D'S's books. Thanks for posting this -- it was easy enough to find the rest of the article, really...

[henderson field]

"...the arrival of those who choose to love America." Who are they?

[henderson field]

Conversely, when one is born in this country, one is not always an American. One is an American resident.

[henderson field]

Conversely, when one is born in this country, one is not always an American. One is an American resident.

[ricpic]

I only wish that the political class (both parties) heeded George Washington's admonition to avoid foreign entanglements. I realize that this thread is not about whether America is or is not an empire. I fear that if we do become an empire we will become less and less the country that D'Souza celebrates. In empires, historically, vigorous political debate is supplanted by executive dictat. And that dictat eventually seeps into civil life. Congress has already pretty much ceded the running of the war on terror to the executive. Domestically we are more and more at the mercy of judges who make or unmake law based on no more than personal whim (which they call the General Will). The government under both Democrats and Republicans keeps "growing itself" at the expense of the people. How really vigorous is representative democracy?

[nyconse]

Too funny. Of course, I think southernors take the cake on naming their kids. My uncle's name was (no kidding) Arsby Durrell. My grandmother was name Lorenza and her sister Volina (called Dinka for reasons lost in the fog of time). My Dad ( Irish descent) named me Theresa Ann when my Mother vetoed Mary Margaret. He was convinced I was destined for the convent. My Father would have been delighted if both my sister and I had become nuns: we were-however-ill suited for convent life! LOL

[nyconse]

America has faced tough challenges before. The beauty of our system is things can change -wrongs can be righted.