Rating: 
Summary: Another one?
Review: A lot of books like this have hit the shelves in the last two-and-a-half years: Volumes that capitalize on 9-11 to demonize some group of people. But Dan Flynn doesn't demonize the terrorists...he demonizes his fellow Americans. Specifically, those among the population whose politics he doesn't like. Here's an example of the tone of the book: Early on (in the introduction, in fact), he comments briefly on an offensive statement made by poet bell hooks. In an extensive footnote, he informs us that he has made a point of capitalizing her name. He then goes on to say that her forswearance of capitals--and the fact that she has legally changed her name--proves that she is "silly," "egotistical," and (ironically enough) "juvenile." It doesn't end there, either: Later in the book, he takes the obligatory shots at intellectuals and the media, flinging terms such as "Orwellian." Plus, he just can't get enough of the fact that he's been kicked out of a few lectures, and claims that it's because of his political beliefs. News flash, Dan: No one wants to listen to Michael Moore, either. Nonetheless, I'll give him this much: He makes an attempt to be specific, and he's marginally more rational than Ann Coulter. That's about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Delightfully written and fun to read!!
Review: DAN FLYNN HAS SUCCEEDED TO PRODUCE AN ARTICULATE, AND DELIGHTFUL ARGUEMENT AGAINST THE "INTELLECTUAL" FAD OF BASHING AMERICA. After 9/11 I was shocked to realize how many people living in and outside America think that the US is evil. My growing awareness to European, anti-American thought sparked my interested in reading "Why the Left hate America."
The book is well-researched, which is evident by its extensive index, yet delightfully written and fun to read!! Mr. Flynn really hits the mark. He does a great job exposing the myths and lies about America which are forcefed to us throughout our school years and after. I recommend this book to anyone who has a thread of patriotism for the greatest country in the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Book Fails to Answer It's Own Question
Review: For what it's worth, let me start by saying that I consider myself moderately liberal. I do not necessarily take what TV pundits would label the "liberal" view on every issue. But more often than not, I come down left of center. That said, I want to note that my purpose here is not to criticize the author's (or anyone else's) conservative views or to call people names. Unlike most of the "critics" who have posted here (both liberals and conservatives), my purpose here is strictly to critique the book itself. Overall, the book was disappointing. Not terrible, but disappointing. First and foremost, I was very disappointed that the book didn't answer the fundamental question posed by its title - WHY does the left hate America? Instead, the book is equal parts "left-wing radicals hate America," "why America is great," and "why non-western countries are not great." In reality, a more appropriate title for this book would have simply been "The Radical Left Hates America (and Why They're Wrong)." Of course, that wouldn't have sold nearly as many copies because it'd be stating the obvious. But at least it would have been an honest reflection of the book's actual contents. To be sure, the author does attempt to answer the title's question in one paragraph in his concluding chapter. But even this paltry explanation fails. His conclusion is that the left hates America because it goes against every "pet theory" the left has ever come up with. This is a cop-out, and certainly not what most of the book is about. Moreover, it doesn't really answer the question, and here's why - Presumably, the "pet theories" he's referencing are myths like "America is more unfair to women than anywhere else" or "America is more unfair to poor people than anywhere else." But these misguided sentiments, if anything, are merely symptoms of an already-existing disdain for America. Certainly, a radical feminist, for example, doesn't hate the U.S. because it goes against her "pet theories." In fact, it is more logical that her pet theories are a product of her dislike for America. And while he does an ample job showing that many segments on the far left have disdain for America, he never really explains the root of this disdain, despite the book's having a title that purports to do just that. One additional criticism - While he makes a strong case that life in the U.S. is better than most developing countries, he conveniently omits almost any comparison to other industrialized nations. In so doing, he implies that the U.S. has the BEST record on civil rights, equality for women, opportunity for poorer citizens, etc. This was rather disingenuous. Sure, the U.S. may have a better record on women's rights than, say, Iran, but the advantage is obviously far less apparent (or even existent) when other "advanced" nations join the comparison. Other than these shortcomings, this book has some merit. The book is at its best when the author compares the United States with many non-western countries. As he intended, he does successfully debunk the myth that people in many of these nations are better off than in the U.S. Much of what he says is obvious, but I think that was part of his point - that radicals overlook the obvious to find imaginary flaws. Another strong point in the book was the author's discussion, mostly in the introductory chapter, of the behavior of radical leftists on college campuses (i.e. shouting people down, burning books, etc.). Like the author, or any other freedom-loving (liberal or conservative) citizen, these stories [trouble me]. In fact, the idea that some of these people may even share some of my political views [troubles me] even more. Thus, for its strong points, I give the book 3 stars, especially because it was better than I had expected it to be. But, overall, I can't get past that the book fails to answer its own fundamental question.
Rating:
Summary: The silliness of the "Left-over" Left....
Review: Ha ha...about time somebody pointed out the hypocrisy and elitism of the College Campus Secular Liberals. My favorite line of Flynn's is that ideology is the religion of those who think they are too smart for religion. That's describes the kooky enviro-religion and counter-cultural hatred of working class values of family, religion, community and country that is still with us in today's "Left-overs". First we had the "Old" Left...the pinko commies of the 30's, whose faith was burst in the reality of Soviet invasion of Hungary. The "Old" Left gave way to the "New" Left of the 60's. Now after the massive destruction of the Democrat Party by these idiots in the streets of Chicago in 1968, the massive defection of the middle class and the working classes to Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party, and the fall of communism, we still have these "Left-overs" hanging out in their sweet little secure jobs in Academia. Flynn does a good job of showing that the Left-over Left is an elitist cliche acting out of HATE for working class values of family and religion, community and patriotism. READ this book!
Rating:
Summary: Factual but Problematic
Review: I approached this book with the mindset of a liberal who would like to understand the logic behind the idea that criticism of America = anti-Americanism.
While I found the book to be painstakingly factual and relatively free of the emotional rhetoric that the title boasts, I did find some logical issues with it.
Flynn argues the difference between the "left" and "liberal", but never really defines the difference except for "hatred and constant criticism of America". He provides few examples of what he deems the Left, although he does mention Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky several times. His thesis is that the Left controls intellectual pulpits in this country and that they are trying to tear the USA apart by their hatred for it.
He provides many quotes as example of 'Leftist hatred' of America, but all of these are criticisms of the USA and how can one distinguish the difference between a liberal who utters them and an America-hating Leftist?
The issue I have here is that the number of people living in America who genuinely HATE IT is tiny. The number of Americans cheering after 9/11 in a genuine way was also very tiny. Flynn takes quotes post-9/11 such as "we had it coming" and uses these as examples of Anti-Americanism, when in my opinion many of these quotes are the just the bitter moanings of people who are frustrated with their government.
It doesn't add up to me that intellectual strongholds in the United States seek to criticize this country because of some innate HATE. When you love something and care about it, you want to improve upon this, and you take the effort to speak up about it. Many of the quotes and examples that Flynn uses to portray "anti-Americanist hatred" are really the cries of people who want to improve upon the conditions within the US.
The book ends up being a "here are all the reasons that the USA is wonderful and better than the rest of the world" rather than a convincing argument that there is a powerful America-hating Left faction in the USA.
The truth is, criticism and introspection are NECESSARY in order to progress and improve. Flynn criticizes feminists and racial activists now for only pointing out the inequalities in American life, when in reality things are much better than before. However, I would like to ask Flynn, "How did change ever come about if people in the 50s and 60s never spoke up against the status quo?" Using his thesis that those who point out the present injustices are "haters", then we can look back and say that the Founding Fathers were anti-British haters and that Elizabeth Cady Stanton and John Brown and Martin Luther King Jr. were also "America-haters".
I understand his point that there is a faction of people in the USA who see nothing but the negatives in American politics and foreign policy, but I do not believe that these are the majority of the people who currently protest the status quo. The people who "hate" and seek to destroy America are in fact the minority.
There is grave danger in calling people who protest 'anti-American' and 'haters' - we run the risk of becoming a static society that accepts the status quo and believes that politicians and corporations hold the general public's best interests at heart. Humans are, by nature, very selfish, and its up to the people of the United States to chart a course for this nation - and the USA should constantly be seeking to hold itself to higher standards and to be honest with itself and its people; meaning that both the good and the bad should be addressed.
Flynn's argument is ultimately underwhelming.
Rating: 
Summary: The LEFT, not the Democrats, not liberals . . .
Review: I can tell that some of the reviewers have not even read this book. If they had, they would know that Daniel Flynn does not believe the Democratic Party is trying to destroy this country, but rather makes a point to distinguish between the far left loonies who hate basic American ideals and liberals, who love their country, but see the need to reform it in a different way than conservatives do. He does not even promote a Republican agenda. When discussing the differences between liberals and conservatives, he says it is open for debate if EITHER side's ideas would work. I really wish that instead of knocking a book they have never read and obviously must be afraid of, these reviewers would actually give this book a chance. Unless liberals and conservatives work together to promote what is good about this country, far left, anti-American thinking will further infiltrate all our institutions and could ultimately destroy what is so good about this nation.
Daniel Flynn's work is impressive. If nothing else, it reminds me of how grateful I should be to live in this country, in Western civilzation. Although our country and our culture certainly has its flaws (as are pointed out by Flynn as well), we are far more tolerant, far more free, far more prosperous and have far more opportunities than the vast majority of the people living on this earth. I also am impressed that I need to do more to protect freedoms here on our shores and find some way to help those who are oppressed and tortured abroad.
Rating:
Summary: Good but misses on one key point.
Review: The author's points and expanding on the great improvements America has had on the world is well worth the price of the book itself. Very positive and up-beat. But, the author missed answering the title of the book. Here is the answer : Hate creating stories are used by politicians and political activists (Michael Moore, Al Franken, even Rush Limbaugh) to discredit an out-group. Just like the South after Civil War was against the redistribution of income, so they create Jim Crow hate messages against African Americans. They took a few violent crimes done by Blacks, passed on the information to spread hate, and then they got "lynching" to almost be legitimized. Hitler did the same thing in 1930s, using Jews as the reason for their economy. Just look at Anti-Americanism in general. Its risen in the Middle East because the cold war is over, the politicians there wouldn't promote anti-americanism too much in the 80s because it would promote pro-sovietism. So, now Anti-Americanism is in vogue,because Americans are the new minority to the world, and anytime a minority has a dispropotionate amount of the world's wealth, hate will be used in order to put political pressure against the minority. The only thing to overcome this is the TRUTH, but people have to have an incentive to learn the truth. HATRED is the most powerful political tool. 90% of Kuwaiti citizens don't believe any arabs were involved in the 9/11 tragedy. If politican groups, media outlets and propagandists like Michael Moore supply enough hate filled messages the masses will just belly up to the bar for their shot of hate each day. Its free and it is addicting to hate, cortisol hormone is released, overweight and fat people with eating addictions have high levels of cortisol. Propagandists that promote hate for their monetary and political purposes will naturally evolve into hate-mongers and become physically ugly too- Al Franken, Michael Moore and Rush generate so much cortisol/testosterone through their hate that they will continue to become fatter-fatter. Terrorist states are no different, they push hate to keep their citizens focused on the enemy while they fleeze their people. Take Iran, they sponser the following message in public prayers "Death to America" everyday. But, remember this, the LEFT LOVES AMERICA because so many of their followers are addicted to hate messages will help their ratings in their leftist TV shows, movies and programs. The sad part is that if history repeats itself, the purveyors of hate never get punished (the south didn't, nobody boycotted Japanese and German products in the decades after they murdered millions of Chinese/Jewish/European citizens.) The leftist media only has to provide small portions of hate a few thousand times a month to get their hate messages disseminated. The NY Times promoted the Abu G. prison scandel 57 days in a row on the front page. Like Hitler's propaganda leader said "Say a lie often enough, eventually it will be believed as truth."
Rating: 
Summary: Where are the WMDs and the Saddam-9/11 links? nowhere
Review: The left hates america?.
I hardly find sense in this book. Bush has run an outlandish deficit, which the Congressional Budget Office says may grow by $2.3 trillion over the next decade. That is a conservative estimate.
Bush has presided over the loss of 2 million US jobs. Not to mention his assault on civil liberties following the horrific attack on 9/11, by thrusting the Patriot Act through congress.
Of course, then there is Iraq. Congressional appropriations claim the occupation could cost tax-payers upwards of $166 billion dollars. The reason? Iraq was not even an imminent threat to their neighbors. No WMDs found. No connection whatsoever to the terrorist attacks in 2001. These are just some the reasons conservatives and the Left should hate Bush. However, to be fair, let's not forget the complicity of the Democrats in virtually all of the aforementioned failures.
Republican administrations have repeatedly backed evildoers when it suit the policies-of-the-day of the White House: Saddam in the 1980s, Pinochet, Suharto, the death squad regimes of Latin America, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, Mobutu, the Nicaraguan contras, and more.
Rating:
Summary: A quick and thought-provoking read
Review: The thesis of this exceedingly-well footnoted book is that some on the ultra-left of the American political scene have pet theories that they espouse and that they hate it when facts do not bear out their theories. Among these are what Flynn calles "The Five Big Lies". They are:
1. American women live under a patriarchy.
2. America is the World's leading threat to the environment.
3. America is a racist nation.
4. The US is an imperial power.
5. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
Flynn quotes his opponents extensively and then rebuts their arguments with his own extensive research from a wide variery of sources (he has over 500 end-notes, often with commentary - not a small task).
Flynn does not claim that the US is perfect in any of the above 5 areas. Far from it. He just submits that some on the left have given themselves over to hyperbole and unfairly characterized America and Americans.
Who is the Left that he is disputing - not any of the normal run-of-the-mill politicians in the Democratic Party (the one that is the "left" in normal political terms for those political novices out there), but rather the ultra-left, such as Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Ted Turner, Stokely Carmichael, Cornel West, Patricia Ireland to name a few. I was put in mind of an ultra-feminist (wow - did she have hairy armpits and legs!) that taught my English 101 class at Indiana University. The poetry and essays and short story assignments were all about sexism and racism. I was told to write what I thought, but the only time I got above a "C" was when I wrote what she thought.
Anyway, this is a quick and thought-provoking read that has the added bonus of being very enjoyable to read.
Rating:
Summary: A Confusing Book From A Confused Soul
Review: This book is typical of the propaganda pieces coming out of the radical right wing these days. Rather than put the blame for America's problem with terrorists firmly where it belongs, with the terrorists, the right wing is trying to blame the left for all that is wrong with America. This idea is silly, dangerous, and wrong, but sadly there are oh so many braindead individuals out there who may actually believe that the Democratic Party wishes to destroy the country of which it is a part. Of course all this "The Left Hates America" BS is just a ploy to get more people to vote Republican. It's not about patriotism. It's not about America. It's about playing dirty politics to try to gain an electorial advantage. Aside form the politics, there's also a personal element involved here as well. It should be noted that the author is affiliated with the ultra-hardcore right wing Leadership Institute, and was affiliated with the hard-right Accuracy in Acedemia, a group that goes around berating acedemics because they refuse to spread conservative lies. ( Such as attacking economists who don't teach trickle-down in a positive light, or spend more time teaching about FDR than Reagan in history courses). Mr. Flynn, thus, is a card carrying member of the radical, loonely right, far out of the mainstream. His motives for writing this book are very cynical and very political. He attacks the patriotism of his fellow Americans, while the government he supports lets Osama run free. He attacks his own people! How is that patriotic? Wrong target dude! Why does Mr. Flynn hate the intellecutals who represent half of Americans so much? Apparently Mr. Flynn had a bad experience at his expensive college in Liberal New England where he felt persecuted by his professors because they wouldn't support Reagan's crimes in Latin America,Iran-Contra, and his absurd economics. He's carried a persecuation complex ever since, and believes himself, and America, to be under attack by angry mobs of "looney lefties". But it's all BS. Nothing but a spoiled little boy complaining about how teacher won't let him play the way he wants. Go cry to North Korea, Mr. Flynn. Americans are too patriotic to listen to your whining dribble.
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