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In a 30 page chapter entitled "Why They Hate Us" he honestly and thoroughly lays out all of the arguments about why America is reviled by so many. 77)D'Souza's analysis of Lincoln, slavery and the rigamarole that he went through to finally get rid of it is so brilliant that I will refer to it next time I teach it in history class. The big ideas such as those of Locke, Rousseau and Jefferson fascinate me and I like to think about what their philosophies mean for us if implemented in the real world. He does not claim it is a finished product. I have rarely read a book on contemporary politics in which I agree so thoroughly with his analyses. I may be just a high school history teacher but I do a lot of thinking about history and a lot of reading. D'Souza starts "What's So Great About America" with a thorough indictment of America. 116-8)At no point does D'Souza deny that America needs improvement.
I hope that D'Souza offers a revision with additional commentary. (pp. Perhaps discussion pages at the end, too. 60-61) closely mirror a conclusion I came to myself one day when discussing Ancient Greece with a class. By the end of the chapter the reader begins to wonder if there really is anything so great about America.The balance of the book is spent answering every charge levelled in the first chapter. But, he does assert that for all of its warts and imperfections it is, as Lincoln put it, "the last, best hope of Man on Earth."The book is a bit dated, even though it is only 7 years old.
D'Souza's comments on the West being an inheritance from both Athens and Jerusalem (pp. I guess that makes the Book of Acts the actual document that founds the West.hmmm.I loved this quote from a friend of D'Souza that wanted to immigrate to the United States from India very badly: "I really want to live in a country where the poor people are fat." (p. The War in Iraq, the election of Barak Obama and other events came to mind as I read the book. It comes to mind because my edition is from Penguin Books and they do that with many books.
As an immigrant from India, D'Souza recognizes while that it is possible for he an Indian to become an American in America; it is not at all possible to do the same in India, or any other country. Take the example from the chapter on The Reparations Fallacy where Fredrick Douglas sites the Congressional view of blacks.please use a keyword search.cigarroomofbooks.blog. Becoming an American is less about your place of birth but about embracing ideas. He suggest that this is one of the many reasons explored in the book that enables A Christian, Jew, Muslim to work side by side in life and give no thought to the ethnic "bad blood" in their history. I can't help but recall in every book I have read on Islam that proclaims everything there is to know is already written in the bible.
I learned in reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, that this adoption on technology has been a primary part of the evolution of man since Adam and Eve. We are willing to look at other cultures for the answer. While multiculturalism is teaching the traditional religions and customs of far away countries in our educational institutions as current practice, those practices are actually fading away in those countries. What I find so amusing in the arguments he uses you realize the rhetoric in one side or the other. For the West to ignore the views of Islamic doctrine D'Souza claims to be a mistake.
The book clearly begins with an effort to draw a polarized view of the Islamic and Western divide. It is liberalism itself that is at dispute. In fact in Iran science is shackled by it's limitation in terms, words not founded in the Koran.Science, Democracy, and Capitalism are the three staples that set the West aside from the rest of the world. Whereby we continuously question our identification of what is good. They preach that forcing Western ways on other countries is bad. He demonstrates that indeed this is not the sole domain of the West.
How's that for a drawing from the best of theology and evolution. The evil that lurks within is the academic left who preach multiculturalism as the anecdote to patriotism. In as much as we lament the idea of a church run State, Islam is diametrically opposite with sound church influenced state in their beliefs.D'Souza suggests that agreeing to disagree with Muslims is a form of liberalism that we must put in check. In America money is not an end but a means to a longer, healthier and fuller life. This is a Christian idea, meaning the fulfillment of a plan. Now add progress. Yet for example when the British left India in 1947, India chose to keep many of the British practices. Sure there may be a place for the past, but evolution and improvement in a standard of living is what humans do.In meeting the challenge of multiculturalism, D'Souza brings up the question of ethnocentricity.
Money enables immigrants to pursue a life with dignity, security and comfort that they would not have realized in their homeland. Beginning with assimilating Precleses and Greece to today's West and then drawing contrast with an Islamic faith that advocates a conquest of anything not Islamic. With this idea, people in America have realized a society where the common man sees himself as equal to a CEO in terms of freedom to choose his destiny. In the West Human Beings build on the accomplishments and discoveries of others. In contrast the West has carried forward in the center of it's thinking the practice of the Greeks. The American allows a person to choose his destiny and work towards achieving his dreams. Ones beliefs or desire places him to see one interpretation of history as rhetoric and the other side of the same story as fact. It becomes an obstacle when demonstrating that our society is a moral improvement upon theirs.In D'Souza's attempt to patronize America and at the same time qualify him to write the book, an interesting note can be taken.
While there is a sentiment within the academic left who impose their ideals on naive students; the majority of this movement comes form African-Americans. When I contrast this with books I recently read, with pictures of Yannomami Indians of the Brazilian Rain Forest wearing T-shirts and Levi cutoff shorts, I believe D'Souza. Ethnocentricity is an aspect of all civilizations and in fact the more primitive the technology and life style the more prominent the observed degree of ethnocentricity. D'Souza illustrates this by describing the conversation between the parent and child where the questions is asked; "What do you want to be when you grow up." The phrase that captures the answer is the pursuit of happiness.By mid book it is clear that D'Souza is staunchly opposed to the activist views of multiculturalism. to gain more of my insights and to share yours.
Interesting - an outsider's (D'Souza is from India) perspective on what makes America unique. The author is good cultural observer, and has a decent philosophic background.
In the aftermath of 9/11 a lot of ink was spilt on trying to understand why America was attacked and how do America's enemies perceive this nation. D'Souza is not an uncritical admirer of America, but someone who has truly lived an American dream and achieved a remarkable level of success in his professional life. But just like many others, he is also appreciative of living in a country that enables one to pursue one's dreams and not be restrained by the circumstances of one's birth. In words of one infamous preacher, America's chickens had come home to roost. So even though the book was written as a response to particular historical events and circumstances, it remains fresh and relevant for as long as the idea of American dream is fresh and relevant. And yet America to this day attracts more voluntary immigration than any other nation on Earth. Amidst all of the soul-searching a new theme had gradually emerged especially on the intellectual left: America was attacked because America is an awful country that has always been doing a lot of bad domestically and abroad. Like many other immigrants from traditional cultures, he is also apprehensive about bringing up his kids in a country where there are no absolute and immutable social norms.
One of those immigrants is Dinesh D'Souza, the author of this book. In that capacity he is one of the best people around to tell America what is so great about her, and to remind her many detractors that its greatest achievements are the true reasons why so many hate her. These are the enduring messages of the American way of life. And if history is any guide, this will remain true for many more years.
D'souza widens the scope and shows us the the big picture of human civilization. It's a reminder that we must not forget our past, in order to create a better future. He shows us how America is great, and that it has historically been a positive force in the world. Great writer, great book.
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