Self-loathing Americans
: I didn’t think I would have to state the obvious in my discussion below on what I call cultural traitors — that is, the Americans who go to Europe and insult the entirety of America and Americans. Well, here’s the obvious: Of course, I support anyone’s right to criticize any policy or action or leader anywhere. That’s what makes America great. And of course, I’m not going to launch into a love-it-or-leave-it screed; that’s so ’60s short-hair-short-sleeve-and-skinny-tie narrow-minded.
Matt Welch, a most reasonable person I respect, takes me to task for using the loaded word “traitor.” I won’t unfairly summarize his comments; read them below.
In response, I went and reread the pieces by Moore and the Newsweek correspondent to make sure I wasn’t being unfair. But I got even angrier.
Moore is calling all of America stupid: “Should such an ignorant people lead the world? How did it come to this in the first place? 82 percent of us don’t even have a passport!” And he calls us morally inferior by calling the Germans morally superior: “You are well-read. Your media also reports on things south of the Alps. You travel. You value education. And in the past year you took over the moral leadership in the question of war or peace.”
The Newsweek bozo (is bozo better than traitor?) is even worse. For he says the 9/11 attacks did not prove lucky enough to bomb America into our senses, into seeing “a world beyond US shores.” I cannot imagine that anyone would anticipate anything lucky about 9/11. How noxiously glib he is about our national tragedy. He doesn’t separate the government from the people — a standard argument — but instead blames the people for the government: “Even among friendly Britons there’s a growing scepticism about this gun-toting, electric-chairing land that has happily let Dubya be Dubya for nigh on three years now.” He is nonplussed that anyone, let alone a Frenchman, would argue that America is a “force for good.”
They are not just criticizing a policy. They are discarding a nation and its people — and, worse, it is their nation and their people.
Well, when attacked, I see no reason not to defend.
I made a point of saying that they were not political or military traitors. But they are traitors to our culture, our people, if they call us a bunch of morally deficient, ignorant fools and try to distance themselves from their country and countrymen by disowning us all. I define that as being a cultural traitor. They turn against our culture. Loaded word? So what. Loaded times.
I also said in the comments below: I got attacked by foreign extremists on September 11th just because I am an American. I don’t need to be attacked by my fellow Americans just because I am American.
