What's So Great About America

Rating:
Summary: What's so RIGHT about America!!
Review: (A previous) review pretty much sums up the ignorance of all the one-star reviews, as follows :

Every single silly argument made in that long screed HAS ALEADY BEEN DEBATED AND DEFEATED by D'Souza!!! Everything from why we had no choice but to support dictators in Nicaragua, Iraq, etc. has already been explained. Everything about our supposed 'human rights abuses' like slavery, etc. has already been explained. D'Souza does not say these things are excusable, merely points out that other countries do much worse.

China conducted genocide against Tibet and killed their own students in Tianamen square, all in the last couple decades. Now, is America really so bad?

America is not the only place where slavery occured. Slavery STILL exists in Africa. But the US is the first country to actually END slavery. Blacks owe the US much more than the US owes it.

I could go on and on.... but the point is, each liberal fool simply spouts poorly reasoned garbage that has already been defeated by this great American, Dinesh D'Souza. I have yet to read any one-star review that finds a flaw in any argument written in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Hey! Put you money where your mouth is.
Review: Typical liberal spin from these one star "progressive" critics. Lace on the old tired and failed lefty bull but don't bother reading the book and provide any specific examples of factual inaccuracies.
My suggestion: How about reading the damn book and then providing some half way intelligent reasoning towards your argument pro or con? Bottom line: WE ARE THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD BAR NONE!!! Sure we're also far from perfect but name me one other country that is closer to the IDEAL society!!!!
I wish I could exchange one hard working and grateful immigrant who would be proud to be an american for every 100 of these self loathing lefty parasites.

Rating:
Summary: God Bless America!
Review: I recommend this book. Get this book and ask God to protect America and give Americans wisdom to do the right thing in all aspects of our lives. Very inspirational book for these trying times. Another inspirational book is A Guide to the Scriptures.

Rating:
Summary: America is certainly right "lite"
Review: This is a readable, relatively light work on the merits of America. D'Souza does a good job of highlighting America's strengths, explaining why actually very few people hate the United States. Instead, these people want to be part of the United States. Noah Chomsky, anonymous "one star" reviewers and the "blame America first" crowd aside, America remains the literal and figurative beacon for immigrants looking for a better life, for freedom, and something to believe in. And they continue to come our way.

Using the September 11 events to introduce the topic, D'Souza points out what many astute observers of the events of the last year have noted. Among them: America did not invent slavery; along with the West, we abolished it. Islam and the Judeo-Christian West have been at odds for some time. And there are good reasons for this. "Tolerance" can only be practiced or even operationally defined in a country as tolerant as the United States; many of our enemies are not only intolerant of us, they are intolerant of the expressions of their own people. And the critics of the United States often live in the United States, where they can get away wth being a critic.

Many of our problems in America stem from being too tolerant, too willing to accept anything and everything. Multiculturalists abhor the once-valued American melting pot. They believe that all philosophies have merit. As Thomas Sowell clearly pointed out in his works on culture and conflict, many of these other cultures are savage and self-destructive. Or read Richard Pipes' "Communism" for a pithy analysis of the twentieth century's failed alternative.

America and the values of political and economic freedom and produced more goods and services and freed or defended more people than we can count. Countries and cultures export our goods and ideas not because we invaded the country with soldiers but because the people want what we have and produce. And even the September 11 terrorists indulged themselves fully of the decadent West they decried.

Some of D'Souzas personal examples and observed anecdotes read as oversimplified or clever and did not ring fully true to me. Nonetheless, he makes his points.

Rating:
Summary: Bottom line ...
Review: Here's the real bottom line:

If you want to know why 911 happened - read this book

Rating:
Summary: Dinesh D Souza is using 9-11 for his own selfish gain.
Review: This book is a ploy at cheap, new found Patriotism following the national fervor of 9-11. It is rather disgraceful, by typical of Ameirca and American culture. And the same goes for all these new found Patriots waving the American flags, the NYPD hats, T-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. Its really unbelievable the extent of greed and people's desire for money at any situation , no many how terrible. What is perhaps more astonishing is the people who buy all these superficial products and actually support the hoaring of 9-11 and of so called patriotism.
Sorry, but in my book, it isn't the one that waves the flag the most, that has the bumper sticker, that has the NYPD hate, that buys all these cheap products, and books for that matter to show off his patriotism, but the one that buys nothing of these cheap materials, critisizes America because he wants to make to improve it, and never blindly accepts something just because it is disguised under the infallible cover of Patriotism. D'Souza, your kind, and the people that take advantage of the surge of patriotism after 9 11 and take advantage of good hearted Americans by teasing them with your shameless products only to cash in on a great tragedy is disgraceful, as all true Patriots know.
Also of amusement, is the reader from Ann Arbor, MI who doesn't identify itself, which is humourous after another "patriot" had complained that people that don't like this book hide their signature. Anyway, this persons arrogantly states "Note that the 5-star reviews are well-written by educated people."
Well, lets see what this "educated" person has to say: "The liberals/communists (the two words can be used interchangeably)"
Interchangeably? There is no diffrence between Clinton, who has been called Liberal by right wingers, and Marx? No diffrence from Gore and Lenin? Better read The Communist Manifesto "educated" one. Also, educating us further is the following: "D'Souza is a great American, even though he is an immigrant." EVEN THOUGH he is an immigrant? Are immigrants somehow less likely to be great Americans? Are you part of the Sioux "educated" one from Ann Arbor? Are we not a nation of immigrants? But lets read further for the sake of education, "In fact, which nation would allow people such as the liberal/communists to speak out against the government." Is that a joke? Some real Democracies HAVE Liberals, Socialists and Communists in their very government! This is just a magnificient display of ignorance! In fact, its only in the United States where you would be hard pressed to name a single Socialist newspaper columnist, Television personality, etc. This is practically unheard of in almost every single industrialized country in the world! And American tolerance towards Communists and Socialists is nothing to be proud of. Are you completely ignorant of the Red Scare and McCarthy Era? When so called "Patriots" used the flag to restrict freedom and treat people that were Communists as second class citizens, often in effect ruining their careers. At the same time, true Democracies in Canada and Europe, people were electing Socialits to their very government! And McCarthy is only the most infamous, American intolerance against the Left, illegal activity against the Leftist Organizations, and American censorship of Radical thought is drenched in American history. Look at how our two parties are becoming more and more the same! In terms of political expression, tolerance, and wide range of though, America is no doubt the most restrictive out of any industrialized country in the world.
Finally, the educated one closes up its argument by writing "In short, this is a great book, that anyone who has ever actually been to another country, anyone who works hard, anyone who believes in meritocracy, will find to be excellent." Anyone that has been to another country? I have been to Cuba. You know, the country that the most freedom loving and tolerant country that the US is , will not allow me to go to. Also, I went to Cuba and lived in a real Cuban house, not in a resort along the beach. I have lived in one country in Europe for over a month. In Cuba, I admired how a poor country like that could support universal healthcare for its people, free public education right through the university level, and despite being poor and isolated and admittedly under a flawed dictatorship, in almost all socioeconomic factors, healthcare, education, literacy, poverty, AIDS, etc. Cuba ranks number one in Latin America. In Europe, I couldn't help but admire a true, representative Democracy that had several diffrent parties representing people from every political spectrum. In Europe, no vote is wasted. Unlike America, where the votes of 51%, a majority, A MAJORITY, of the American people, were basically meaningless. Where are all the Patriots when it comes to the 51% majority of Americans? And the man that a plurality voted for was not even elected! Is that real Democracy? Is that anything to be proud of?
I am tired of hearing these smug and typical arrogant remarks about going to another country. I have, unlike most Americans, I speak the language of the country I'm going to and refuse to remain in tour buses and the like, but actually exploring the country, reading newspaper, talking to people, and getting a feel for it. Not just looking to see how many McDonalds there are, how big the houses are, and how much money they have. I know this may be a shock to many "patriots" , but there is more to life than money. There is more to being a real , representative, free Democracy than money. Americans have much to learn from the freedom and true Democracies of Canada and Europe and the social programs of poor nations like Cuba. I only hope that superficial patriots with the bumper stickers and T-shirts will not use "patriotism" for the suppression of freedom.

Rating:
Summary: "The Truth about America"
Review: Dinesh D' Souza's "What's So Great About America" is an insightful handbook which calls to the fore the many issues that America is facing today as a result of its own greatness. First off, D' Souza compares America to the Athens of old and explains just how with our fight against the Islamic fundamentalists, we are facing a new kind of Sparta. He succinctly and sincerely delineates all the reasons why the fundamentalist factions within Islam hate us so much, and ultimately creates an eye-opening perspective, since the author places you in the shoes of the Easterner and allows you to see our situation in a different light. Since the author is a native Easterner himself, it is interesting to see how he sizes America up culturally with the countries of his native land. Dinesh D' Souza, moreover, discusses some aspects of America's past such as slavery, colonialism, and racism, in order to refute leftist intellectual groups, which believe that America has been nothing but an oppressive society, forcing its western ideals and values upon other peoples just to make a dollar. He shows how, in comparison with civilizations in the past, that America is the only society which stamped out slavery, attempts to silence racism and bigotry, and which overall has done more to benefit third world countries through colonialism than hurt them. Also, he faces arguments from both cultural conservatives like Pat Buchanon and also the Islamic fundamentalists, who claim that America is an immoral society. In the end, D' Souza presents a reasonable defense for these well-grounded arguments and for the most part leaves the reader with a more optimistic view of American moral standards. And at last, the author discusses the war on terror and just how we should go about fighting it and also asks us Americans to know what we are fighting for. Overall, it is a work that will certainly implant a new perspective of what our country really is and what it needs to be. It is a work that should be standard reading in our colleges and universities.

Rating:
Summary: Whats so Wrong About America
Review: Whats so wrong about America - The world's greatest terrorist state, Examples include Nicaragua, El Salvador, Vietnam, Cuba, Phillipines, among others. An Imperialist Country: Cuba, Hawaii, Phillipines, Southwestern United States. A country drenched in hypocrisy for standing for Democracy only when it suits their interest, condemning dictatorships that dont, and purporting dictatorship when it does. This is the main reason of why it is hated throughout the world. Osama hates us largely because of the dictatorship in Saudi Arabia, one of the most repressive in the world, largely supported by US government and at the same time we tell Castro to have elections and uphold Democracy! Do you know why neither Nixon or Reagan or any President before Shrub Bush-Lite was able to demand that Castro have elections? Because the US was supporting and in some cases overthrowing Democracy to prop up dictatorships for its own interests, mainly business interests and profits.

Examples include the overthrow of Democracy in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chile, Columbia, Grenada, among others. Speaking of Cuba, Batista, the American supported Dictator, overthrew the Cuban Republic when it was apparent that he would lose his election and instead set up a military dictatorship, however, since this was helpful to US business interests and likely, interests of Organized crime, the US happily supported him.

Recent examples include Hugo Chavez and Venezuela and looking more likely, Yasir Arafat and Palestine. Two Democratically elected leaders, elected by overwhelming majorities and in Arafat's case, validated by international observers, being told by the US gov. that they should either change what told the people that elected them they wanted to do or be labeled insignificant. You read the papers, talk to the typical idiot American, they rarely will talk about how arrogant and imperialist it is to demand a Democratically elected leader , overhwhelmingly elected with a strong mandate, to back a coup against that leader, tell that leader to change, and then to ignore the will of the people. Colin Powell will not even say that if the New Elections in Palestine occur and Arafat is elected as, thanks to Bush making him look to Palestineans as a victim, he is expected to be, Powell refuses to say what would happen next. Condaleeza Rice tells Chavez to right his own ship which has clearly been going in the wrong direction. And this from an administration that was controversially elected and lost the popular vote telling leaders elected with 60% and 80% majorities to shape up or get out! How Arrogant! How Stupid! How better to anger people to attack you! How American.

Now Most Americans don't know a thing about this. This is only scratching the surface, men , patriots, like Noam Chomsky, have write dozens of books on the subject, mainly because the corporate, "free" press won't touch it. Thats why when Americans are confronted with foreigners that hate their country, they are completely set offguard about it! The ones that do realize it blame envy and the United Nations. You know, the UN is very ironic, when it was in its early days, the US could completely control it and thus it was shed in a good light in the US press and was popular with the public. Now, since it has included many more countries, particularly those in the third world, the US is often find isolated and out of touch with the rest of the world. Examples: Cuban Embargo, Israel. So therefore, it is increasingly unpopular with the US gov. as it fails to do what it wants, and thus, mysteriously, unpopular with Americans , especially Conservatives.

The recent detaining of people , including US citizens , without charging them of any crime and holding them in solitude indefinitely. The fact that we still have Imperialist bases in Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc. The suspension of the Freedom of Information act, one of the few ways people found a way to know whats going on in their gov, and Bush uses 9 11 as an excuse to do so. This is shameful and typical American Fascism.

Notice of course, I did not even get into racism, slavery, civil rights, discrimination, the struggle of unions and workers rights, immigrant rights, sexism, etc. Notice I did not even touch on a insane military budget, still based on Cold War levels, 15 times higher than its nearest competitor. The greed and corruption of big corporations, examples include Enron and WorldCom. Many more examples, however these are the two that are on TV so I would think most Americans would know about it.

I am American. I am ashamed to be one. I am ashamed to call myself American.

Rating:
Summary: Good clean american apologetics
Review: Mr. D'Souza has written a lucid and uncomplicated catechism of Americanism, an apologia, not just for the United States, but for the West as well. Every card-carrying Westerner who still believes that there is something precious and universally valid about our civilization should have this book handy when confronting a liberal activist armed Chomskian literature. My only critique of the book is that it does not give sufficient weight to the problem of cultural and moral decline. Mr. D'Souza seems to attribute these views to either religious fundamentalists or Pat Buchanan. He should be reminded, however, that Pope John Paul II has characterized the present state of affairs as a "culture of death." The Pope's remarks were not limited to a condemnation of abortion and the death penalty, but referred to the overall ethos of modern life. When the Pontiff who was instrumental in discrediting communism and bringing about the collapse of the Soviet Union asserts that our civilization now promotes the values of death over life, we should take the warning seriously.

Mr. D'Souza asserts that the new morality in America is based on autonomy and "authentic" self-expression, which has its roots in Emersonion individualism. He uses the pierced and tattooed cashier at the local Starbucks coffee shop as an example of the new moral code. The Starbucks guy is a freak in the eyes of a priggish Republican, but within his own tribe he is much admired for his incomparable style. "The Starbucks guy is an idealist and it would be wrong to trample on that idealism." D'Souza believes that the ideal of individuality is not in itself the problem, but the depraved manner in which the Starbucks guy has chosen to manifest it. Since this ethic is so deeply entrenched in the culture, he prescribes that "[i]nstead of denying the value of expressive freedom, conservatives would do better to embrace it - at least in part - and to focus on educating people about the rich moral sources of freedom, and about how to use freedom well." (p. 159).

While I agree with the platitude that each individual should be allowed to find a reasonable means of expressing his uniqueness, the problem is not solely the Starbucks guy's bizarre choice of self-mutilation as a way of voicing his individuality, it is the subjectivism and rootlessness of the new American individualism which raises mere autonomy to the highest good. The Starbucks guy's desire to engrave his body with metal and ink does not make him an idealist; rather, he is lost in a neopagan stratum of society that blindly pursues every pop cultural trend. This is a world where the Nike logo is more recognizable and bears greater significance than the cross, the symbol of the true Logos. Wallowing in a banal and decadent subculture which revolves around angry music, sex and synthetic ecstasy, the Starbucks guy has little interest in studied reflection concerning the nature of his ideals or the purpose of his life. The fundamental question is how did we arrive at a point where well-fed middle class teenagers are adopting the accouterments of sado-masochistic fetishism? Why is it that the language and mores of street-level sexual promiscuity have become the lingua franca for so many young people? If culture matters for the maintenance of a vibrant democracy, what does the new morality of authenticity portend for the future of Western civilization?

Rating:
Summary: D'Souza answers Criticism of America with Facts & Logic
Review: D'Souza loves America, so America haters almost certainly will dismiss anything he has to say in advance. His is a calm, reasoned, logical, witty, and documented defense of America. He has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of America and all the the arguments against it. This uniquely equips him to acknowledge criticisms when valid or refute them if fallacious and/or unjustified. It is not an exercise in flag waving. I defy anyone to challenge his logic or conclusions. We may be on the way out, but D'Souza will convince you that we're not done yet. This is a brief book. D'Souza knows what he wants to say and makes his points concisely and deftly. Open your mind and be informed.