Tsunami of bile
“ America's stinginess is a long-standing leitmotif for liberals – which is getting hard to square with their love for America. When it comes to heaping insults on America, U.S. liberals are the nation's leading donors.
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...Stipulating that liberals love America – which apparently depends on what the meaning of "love" is – do they love America as much as they love bin Laden and Castro? ”
The right invests a tremendous amount of time and energy convincing itself that it loves America by waving flags and “supporting our troops” by tying yellow ribbons around everything (how this actually supports our troops is still a mystery). Meanwhile, screeching banshees like Ann Coulter rave about the treason of the “Blame American First” left.
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| Criticism is un-patriotic.
“America's stinginess is a long-standing leitmotif for liberals – which is getting hard to square with their love for America. When it comes to heaping insults on America, U.S. liberals are the nation's leading donors.” |
From Thomas Paine to the 1st Amendment, dissent has always been patriotic and a vital part of American democracy. As Wendy Kaminer eloquently reminded us in the American Prospect, “patriotism does not oblige us to acquiesce in the destruction of liberty. Patriotism obliges us to question it.” From the war in Iraq to Tsunami aid, free and open criticism can only strengthen our country. |
| Social science research Is worthless.
“In 2003, the Center for Global Development – funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, despite the fact that it could have used that money on future tsunami victims.” |
For the right, studying global development, like studying evolution, is clearly a waste of time. If Ann Coulter had her way, we’d all be saving up to help the future victims of the apocalypse. It’s a classical either-or fallacy. As a society we must address the crises of the present and invest in knowledge to prevent the crises of the future. |
| The invasion of Iraq should be counted as foreign aid.
“The CGD's evaluation of "effort" somehow managed to bump U.S. contributions from the No. 1 spot to second-to-last. Sending the military to liberate millions of people from ruthless dictators, for example, did not count as "aid," whereas sending in peacekeepers afterward did.” |
If somebody bombed the crap out of your house, shot up your town, and left you without running water or electricity, would you thank them for the great amount of “aid” they provided you? In making his case for war, Bush was clear that he was putting our interests first, not those of Iraq. |
| U.S. is no. 1 in foreign aid.
“In 2003, the Center for Global Development . . . concluded that the U.S. ranked 20th out of 21 nations in helping poorer nations. This came as a surprise, inasmuch as the U.S. gives the highest absolute amounts of foreign aid to the developing world . . . "The CGD's evaluation of ‘effort’ somehow managed to bump U.S. contributions from the No. 1 spot to second-to-last.” |
It’s not just a matter of “effort.” According to OECD figures, while the U.S. gives the highest amount of aid, it gives the least as a percentage of Gross National Income. In other words, while other countries devote significant parts of their budget to foreign aid, the U.S. spends a small percentage of its wealth on helping other countries. |
| Understanding how our enemies operate (or anything about them) is un-American
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“And has some enterprising reporter asked Sen. Patty Murray what she thinks about the U.S.'s efforts on the tsunami? How about compared to famed philanthropist Osama bin Laden? "In December 2002, Murray was extolling Osama bin Laden's good works in the Middle East, informing a classroom of students: "He's been out in these countries for decades building roads, building schools, building infrastructure, building day-care facilities, building health-care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. It made their lives better.” |
The U.S.’s intelligence services expend a tremendous amount of American blood and treasure every year trying to get inside the operations of our enemies. Senator Murray points out the great strength of terrorist groups like Al Queda and Hamas: they build infrastructure in a successful bid to win their constituents hearts and minds. Instead of beating them at their own game, the Bush administration prefers public relations efforts… like Abu Ghraib. |
The right invests a tremendous amount of time and energy convincing itself that it loves America by waving flags and “supporting our troops” by tying yellow ribbons around everything (how this actually supports our troops is still a mystery). Meanwhile, screeching banshees like Ann Coulter rave about the treason of the “Blame American First” left.
How a movement that seeks to destroy the protections of free speech and religion in the Bill of Rights, flagrantly ignores the rule of law and international convention, and seeks to enshrine discrimination in the constitution in “defense of marriage” can call itself American at all is appalling. The right’s shameless policies undermine the principles of equality and justice upon which this country was founded.
Dissent has always been a hallowed tradition in this country, beginning with the founding fathers, who voiced their dissatisfaction with British colonial rule. Without dissent there is no dialogue and without dialogue there is no democracy. If they could see us now, our founding fathers, far from chastising “activist judges” – I can see Chief Justice John Marshall getting a good laugh at that one – would be appalled at the state of dissent in this country.
To love America is to revel in our diversity, embrace pluralism, and promote sound policies with the aim of long-term prosperity and peace for all citizens. Sort of like what the left has been working towards since, oh, I don’t know, FOREVER?
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