"America" the documentary

By Sylvia Thompson

Recently, I saw the movie "America: Imagine the World Without Her." It is the second documentary of its kind by Dinesh D'Souza, who extols the greatness of his adopted country. If nothing else, this movie deepened my already visceral loathing of Barack Obama and all of his ilk, for their concerted effort to destroy this nation.

In the film, D'Souza lays out several indictments against the United States. These indictments are made not by enemies abroad, but by hate-filled creatures living among us. A reenactment of a statement by Abraham Lincoln regarding the unlikely possibility that this nation would ever be destroyed by outside forces, but rather from within, is the launching point from which the producers present a calm and intellectually scathing denunciation of each indictment.

Of the indictments presented, the two that are most annoying to me and the cause for much of the minority-group whining that the rest of us must endure are (1) that the American Southwest belongs to Mexico and (2) that Europeans "stole" the country from natives already here when they came.

The war between America and Mexico was a war that America won and Mexico lost. That is the nature of wars – somebody wins and somebody loses. I have grown exceedingly tired of the blather from so-called American citizens and no small number of illegal aliens (who should not even be in the country) about the unjust theft of the Southwest.

D'Souza points out in his evisceration of that lie that after having won the vast western area from Mexico, America returned nearly half of it. This move on America's part exhibited an interesting phenomenon that D'Souza describes as a unique view of conquest. No other conquerors throughout human history embraced such a concept. What was won in battle was kept, until someone stronger took it. Leftists with an agenda, however, are far from well-versed in human history.

A middle-aged American Indian activist of the Lakota Sioux tribe in South Dakota spoke of how demeaning the iconic statues of American Presidents at Mount Rushmore are to her people. She spewed the typical line of how awful it was of the Europeans to "steal" the natives' land. D'Souza inconveniently pointed out that her tribe had first "stolen" the land from the tribe that was originally in that area. I was not aware of that fact, but it is certainly a good bit of information to have in confrontations with the whiners.

I was particularly pleased that the movie shed light on some aspects of American slavery that few leftists ever divulge. This indictment, as with the others, has a long history of disingenuousness surrounding it. It is a common assumption among many that American slavery was somehow unique. Slavery has existed since the beginning of humankind, and interestingly the only place on the globe where it is still practiced as a matter of course is in Northern Africa. Muslim nations routinely capture and enslave sub-Saharan black Africans (the part of Africa from which many American slaves were taken centuries ago). Nary a peep about this contemporary slavery, however, from leftist blacks or whites.

In a discussion with a conservative friend, I offered that of all the populations of descendants of African blacks spread throughout the world, American blacks seem to be the only ones still holding the descendants of slaveholders responsible for their ancestors' indiscretions. I shared with my friend my assessment of why this is, even though I completely reject the behavior.

I think what distinguishes American slavery, and its repercussions that continue to linger, is that it took place amidst founding principles that held all men to be created equal under God. No other enslaving cultures were based on that premise. No king, emperor, pharaoh, sheik, or rajah ever assumed that humans shared an equality before God. To the contrary, these cultures were clear in their divisions of humankind. America was unique, and the place where slavery least fit. More importantly, it was those very principles of rights endowed by God that made the abolition of slavery in America inevitable.

Listening to D'Souza calmly interview people who hate this country made my skin crawl. They seemed alien to the nation. My immediate thinking was, "Why are these people here? Why don't they leave?" I cannot imagine remaining in a place that I loathe if there was anywhere else on the globe to which I could escape. I then realized that they are here because they would not be tolerated anywhere else, harboring such hatred. They need the freedoms and rights that only America can give them, and they are keenly aware that they would not survive anywhere else. In some places (those of a socialistic, tyrannical nature), they would be summarily exiled or executed.

America, for now, is a safe haven for these haters. That is because Americans who appreciate America are steeped in biblical principles and are not easily driven to hate, even the hateful. That may not always be the case.

This movie is a must-see for all conservatives. I have read a few of the leftist tirades against it, but those are to be expected from the Left. Intellectually sound rebuttals to America's enemies within, as expressed in "America," should make the Left very nervous. The movie signals to them that those of us who accept its premise will not allow this nation to be "remade," other than to turn it back toward the God who guided its founding.

My hope is that the movie will encourage those Americans who truly appreciate this country and what it stands for, despite its flaws, to develop a new mantra for people like Bill Ayers, Noam Chomsky, and Barack Obama. That mantra should be "Leave, if this place disturbs you so much. Just, go."

© Sylvia Thompson