As President Bush goes forth to mend fences with the French and Russians, as he smiles and shakes hands with those who recently accused him of "arrogance" and "aggression," it is worthwhile to consider the roots of today's anti-Americanism. An excellent book was published last year on this subject. I refer to Daniel Flynn's "Why the Left Hates America: Exposing the Lies That Have Obscured Our Nation's Greatness."
Before I stumbled onto Flynn's book, I had penned the following note to myself on the subject: "The U.S. has come to represent something 'other' than a country to many people. It has become a symbol, in certain minds, of all that is unfair about the world. The people who adopt anti-U.S. ideas are unconsciously projecting their disappointments on the world's leading country. The result is an irrational type of loathing that immediately interprets all events as a CIA plot, or a 'Bush family' conspiracy, or corporate imperial aggression. All the world's misfortunes are now attributable to U.S. greed."
What Flynn does in his book is describe anti-Americanism, which is the same anti-Americanism that presently animates much of Europe and Brazil. I believe this is a serious subject that will increasingly take center stage as the present international crisis develops. In his book, Flynn discusses what he calls "the five big lies" about America.
The first lie that Flynn describes is the lie that "American women live under a patriarchy." He begins by quoting Alexis de Tocqueville's statement that, "I have nowhere seen woman occupying a loftier position [than in America]." He also makes the following observation about American schools: "Girls get better grades, are more likely to be enrolled in advanced placement courses, and are involved to a greater extent in all major extracurricular activities save sports. Boys, on the other hand, are suspended from school more, are three times more likely to be enrolled in special education, and constitute the vast majority of high school dropouts."
The second lie that Flynn lists is the lie that "America is the world's leading threat to the environment." In opposition to this, Flynn offers the following facts: In terms of chopping down trees, the U.S. has three times the timber wood today than in 1920; new automobiles made in America produce 99 percent fewer hydrocarbons and 96 percent less carbon monoxide than cars made 30 years ago. According to Flynn: "Americans breathe cleaner air and drink cleaner water than almost anyone. The World Resources Institute's rankings of the world's most polluted cities list no U.S. metropolises in its top tier. In fact, China boasts 9 out of the 10 most polluted cities."
The third lie that Flynn lists is the lie that "America is a racist nation." Many of today's high school textbooks depict the United States as the bigoted homeland of racial oppression. Millions of Americans have been schooled in what is called "multicultural history." The lessons from this study are clear: The whites killed the Indians, enslaved the blacks, invaded and robbed the Mexicans, and built America upon the backs of non-whites. This is what American children are taught in most public schools. Europeans erroneously think that Americans are taught to be arrogant and chauvinistic. But this is not the case. American history, as presently taught to American children, is a woeful tale of aggression, genocide and exploitation. It is also a distorted version of history that leaves out the most important part of the American story. The objective of leftist textbook writers is clear. According to Flynn: "The Left charges bigotry not from a longing to stem racism but out of a desire to use it as an issue to discredit the country they hate." And what about racism in America? In answer to this question, Flynn points out that non-whites in America presently enjoy more opportunity, more prosperity and freedom than they do anywhere else in the world. As Flynn correctly observes, discrimination against non-whites has been "marginalized culturally" in the United States. You are not likely to succeed in business or politics in America if you sport racist attitudes. Under today's Republican (non-leftist) administration, the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor to the President are of African descent. The fact that people were initially divided in this country according to race is due to the fact that civilization evolved from barbarism when tribe competed against tribe. The struggle for freedom and equality under the law has therefore been long and difficult; yet America has led the way in this struggle. To blame America for sins that are common to all countries and to every era in history is unfair.
The fourth lie that Flynn lists is the one most relevant at the present time. It is the lie that "the United States is an imperial power." Perhaps you have heard the refrain, especially from the lips of totalitarian spokesmen, that "America is a terrorist nation." How many times have we heard it said that the "real axis of evil" is the Pentagon, CIA and the big corporations? Flynn asks America's accusers a simple, devastating question: "If the United States is an imperial power, where is our empire? What are the names of the colonies we possess?" Iraq will be listed by the ignorant. But Iraq is not a colony. It is a liberated country. There is no American empire in the sense of the Roman, British or Russian empires. Knowing this to be the case, a clever leftist will talk of neo-colonialism, of the imperialism of Starbucks coffee or Coca-Cola. He will note that the world has been invaded by McDonalds. Millions now suffer from hamburgers, French fries and soft drinks. As Flynn points out, "In the lexicon of the left, the term 'empire' possesses an amazing elasticity." Now empire means ownership and financial superiority. That's right. Having more money than others is one and the same as imperial oppression. There is also the imperialism of possessing a strong military. But the possession of powerful armed forces does not make the U.S. guilty. According to Flynn, "Nations holding power vis-à-vis other nations have traditionally used that power to claim dominion over others. America refrains from this course of action." In successive wars America liberated oppressed countries from Spanish, German and Japanese oppression. If this is imperialism then what would anti-imperialism be?
The fifth lie about America discussed by Flynn is that under the capitalist system "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." Here is the most dangerous lie of them all. To blame the rich for the poor, to blame the rich for a looming economic crisis, is to make war on wealth. It is the motive of those who would install a totalitarian regime in order to choke off the free market. And the operative term here is "free." Freedom is what allows men and women to escape from poverty. The "eat the rich" rhetoric of the left therefore threatens freedom, especially economic liberty - the source of most all wealth. Here is a lie that goes against America's tradition. It is a lie that denies the very wellspring of America's past prosperity.
Flynn's book is important because he has accurately and fairly described the kind of ideology that is presently taught at our nation's universities and in totalitarian countries. It is a false ideology, anti-American to the core. Many laugh at America's silly college professors and their leftist ideas. But it is no laughing matter. America's elite universities are presently indoctrinating the future administrative staff of government and business. Perhaps the most unsettling observation in Flynn's book is the following: "America finds itself almost alone in the history of nations in its cultivation of an elite that hopes for its country's demise. Museums, libraries, art galleries, schools, colleges and universities, and other institutions charged with passing on our culture seek instead to destroy it."
I know from personal experience that Flynn's statement has more than a grain of truth. You may dismiss what he says. But do so at your own hazard. Flynn's book is factual and is supported by mountains of testimony. It is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the Anti-American mentality.
