Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 3:59:12 PM
I recently read The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation by Michael Medved.
Talk radio host, author, and media & culture critic Michael Medved has an encyclopedic knowledge and recall of American history and politics. He is featured right here on Townhall.com.
His most recent book is the kind you can carry around with you or keep on your coffee table if you want to see the Leftists in your life go into fits. Students should especially be given copies, although the corresponding rise in the blood pressure of instructors might be costly to health plans.
As the title implies, Medved tackles ten all-to-commonly-believed notions about the United States of American that crumble in when countered with the facts.
Here they are:
America Was Founded on Genocide Against Native Americans - Debunks the notion that a paradise of peaceful people were wiped out by an unprovoked and concerted genocidal effort on the part of colonists from Europe and their American descendants. Possible Leftist response: Europeans were still wrong to invade the continent (but of course, it is okay for other people to invade now).
The United States is Uniquely Guilty for the Crime of Slavery, and Based Its Wealth on Stolen American Labor - Points out that Americans deserve more credit for reducing slavery around the world than blame for perpetuating it; slavery was not a boon to the American economy. Possible Leftist response: Americans were still wrong to engage in slavery and thus we still have a debt to pay.
The Founders Intended a Secular, Not Christian, Nation – Shows that the founders, while not intending a theocracy, saw this nation as a Christian one and did not separate faith, prayer, and religious activities from government proceedings, policies, and facilities the way today’s most ardent separationists insist is Constitutionally mandated. (Medved is a observant Jew.) Possible Leftist response: That was then, this is now. Besides, those people were genocidal slavedrivers (see above).
America Has Always Been a Multicultural Society, Strengthened by Diversity – Points out that, unless you believe that one Christian denomination is an entirely different culture from another, America has been an assimilating nation, not a multicultural one for most of its existence, and multiculturalism has a dismal record around the world. Possible Leftist Response: Current immigration trends necessitate multiculturalism.
The Power of Big Business Hurts the Country and Oppresses the People - Shows that big business has provided much more benefit to Americans than any harm, empowering the individual and helping to improve our quality of life. Possible Leftist response: It isn't worth it because big business owners get richer than most of us, and that's not fair.
Government Programs Offer the Only Remedy for Economic Downturns and Poverty – Shows that government programs actually make economic downturns worse and create more of a problem than they solve. This is especially relevant right now! Possible Leftist response: We can count on our government, which has the power of force, and in the past has been genocidal, racist, and a perpetuator of slavery (see above), to be less corrupt and better at handling things than a market that relies on freedom, personal choices, and voluntary interactions.
America Is an Imperialist Nation and a Constant Threat to World Peace – Shows that while America has participated in many wars, it has been decidedly non-imperialist, especially in comparison to most of the world and has promoted peace. Possible Leftist response: But we're too powerful, automatically making things unfair, just like when someone is really rich and I'm not.
The Two-Party System Is Broken, and We Urgently Need a Viable Third Party – Medved draws upon his keen understanding of political history to show that Democrats and Republican parties have changed over the years, while ideals being championed by third parties tend to make those ideals less prominent in the major parties instead of more prominent. Possible response from third-party member: It doesn’t matter – the principle of purity matters more to me than winning.
A War on the Middle Class Means Less Comfort and Opportunity for the Average American – Demonstrates that quality of life has improved, and that people who leave the middle class are much more likely to do so by moving upwards than downwards. Possible Leftist or protectionist response: I have it harder than my parents. I mean, they didn't have to deal with where to place the big screen hi-def TV, or where to park all of the cars, or how to keep so many rooms clean.
America is in the Midst of an Irreversible Moral Decline – Demonstrates this notion goes back to the earliest days of the country, and that cultural indicators shift back and forth, instead of constantly declining. Medved is optimistic. This "lie" comes mostly from the Right, especially the Religious Right. Those whose eschatology (the study of "last things" or end times) holds that the world as we know it will soon end after a dramatic increase in evil are likely to be unconvinced by Medved, though there are orthodox Christian theologians who do not believe a total moral collapse is destined to precede the "end of the world", or that we can’t have decades, centuries, or millennia yet ahead of us full of moral advancements and retreats.
All in all, it is a great book that I can strongly recommend.