Monday, March 19, 2007

"They Always Blame America First"

That's a quote from former UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1984 describing the Democratic Party and it rings just as true today. There's an excellent article by Michael Barone describing this phenomena today.

Barone is a very astute political writer who hits the nail on the head when he says the default assumption is the we are guilty and most of the world problems - whether it is terrorism or global warming are our fault.

Now my grandparents immigrated from France in the 1920's, so I am not descendant of slaves nor an Anglo-descendant, so I don't have to defend my ancestors nor were they responsible for the good that America has done.

But I believe that nearly all the advances in freedom have come about as the result of English speaking people. As Churchill outlined them they are: the development of the common law, guarantees of freedom, representative government, and independent courts.

I grow tired of the snotty PhD's that I work with that always want to point out how Americans slaughtered the Native Americans or when my kids come home from school pointing out how evil America was to drop the atom bomb on Japan. They have little inclination or knowledge to realize the contributions to the world that America has given beyond freedom. I like the bumper sticker that reads "If you can read this, thank a teacher; if you can read it in English thank a soldier".

It's no accident that we lead the world in entrepreneurship, net worth, economic output, charitable donations, Nobel Prizes and military might. See the movie "Amazing Grace" and understand that even today slavery is practiced in many places of the world. It was the English speaking countries that lead the way to eliminate this practice.

I have travelled to many places - Russia, China, South America and Europe. What we have in America is quite unique.People worry about the Chinese catching us, but until they have the attributes outlined by Churchill, I am not worried.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recent blog regarding the film, Amazing Grace.

Just wanted to let you know that this weekend and next, supporters of the Amazing Change Campaign are hosting Amazing Nights Of Grace, in a concerted effort to get everyone talking about the issue of modern day slavery. The Amazing Change is a social justice campaign launched in conjunction with the release of Amazing Grace to abolish modern day slavery.

Plan your own Amazing Grace event and use the film to discuss your activism, faith, and other important themes from Amazing Grace. All the tools are ready for your use. The steps to plan your own event can be found at the following website:

http://www.theamazingchange.com/amazingnightofgrace.html

Learn about people continuing the work of William Wilberforce today at http://www.theamazingchange.com. Thanks again for your support. Please let us know if you have any questions or need any support by contacting us through this page.

Chris
The Amazing Change Campaign