American Guilt

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Is the glass half full? Or half empty? I believe the glass is not big enough for all of the wonderful things America would like to put into it. The Left blames America for the glass having something in it in the first place.

An acquaintance of mine, who has a Ph.D. in sociology, once explained to me that the United States is indeed an empire, and her imperialism is apparent by the fact that American cheesburgers can be found in just about all corners around the world. Cheeseburgers, by the way, that the subjected citizens of the world buy willfully, and eat gladly.

She took exception to my comment about America's greatness. Like most folks on the Left, my sociology friend seems to think that America's ability to prosper in a world with a history of violent discontent somehow makes America guilty of causing all of that discontent.

My oldest dog is nearly twelve years old. He's hard of hearing, can't see too well, and gets confused real easy. Should it be suggested that because I have provided him with a comfortable life complete with meals and a warm doggy bed that it is my fault he's blind in his old age? Perhaps, the liberal mindset may suggest, if he'd been left to the wild he'd see clearly well into his thirteenth birthday.

America is blamed for taking the land from the Indians, but if America had never emerged here in the New World would we still be living in teepees and hunting buffalo? While Columbus may have infected the Native Americans with small pox, it seems never to be mentioned that the Indians also infected the explorers with disease. When Columbus returned to the Old World, his crew took back with them syphilis, which spread through Europe like wildfire. Though our colonizing ancestors are blamed for the murder of millions of Indians, how many millions of people have died as a result of the natives in America introducing us to tobacco? If the United States had never gotten off the ground, would America then be an extension of Mexico, complete with drug cartels, corrupt leaders, and a populace itching to illegally cross the border into Canada?

We didn't ask to be a superpower. We became a superpower simply because we did everything right, with a handful of hiccups along the way. Sure, ultimately power is transient, but for the time being, like it or not, America is the example of exceptionalism the world over. We are the shining city on the hill, and everyone wants to be us. . . as they mutter under their breath how much they despise us at the same time (while picking pieces of cheeseburger out of their teeth).

The United States is involved in every major happening that emerges on this great big blue marble we call a planet. English is spoken just about everywhere because of us, Europe doesn't speak German and Italian because of us, and China is not just a farming province for the vast Japanese Empire thanks to us. America is the pre-eminent power of the age, not because we took that role by force, but because being great simply left us that role as a consequence. But if we are as imperialistic as the Left would like to suggest, wouldn't we have conquered Iraq, and then formed settlements in the sand, complete with convenience stores and burger joints? If we are as imperialistic and as warlike as the liberal loons would like to suggest, wouldn't we have invaded Canada by now?

Thanks to the belief that we are somehow an aggressor with imperialistic intentions, the guilt of the American Left automatically searches for an "exit strategy" every time we go into battle. "Exit Strategy" is a proclamation of the weak, and weakness can indeed be a provocation of your enemy. The correct answer should always be that the only acceptable exit strategy is victory. No less should be tolerated.

American liberals have decided that America is force feeding the world lemons, shoving the sour citrus of American policies down the throats of the poor, unsuspecting world.

Sure, we may have what seems to be lemons to some, but America's greatness has seen fit to mix the sour lemon juice with a little sweet sugar, so that the world can have some lemonade to go along with that American cheeseburger.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary