In honor of Thanksgiving day, here are some notes on a great book I read a while back, “What’s so Great About America”, by Dinesh D’Souza. I highly recommend it. Those of us who live in this great country certainly have a lot to be thankful for. Here are a few questions this book answers:
1. Why do so many people in the world hate the USA? Are they justified?
2. Were the 9/11 hijackers “ignorant cowards” or intelligent warriors fighting a losing battle for survival?
3. Is it better for mankind to be virtuous by force or have the freedom to choose between virtue and vice? Which situation results in more virtue?
4. How did the West progress to dominate the world in such a short time?
5. What cultural progress has Islam made in the last 800 years?
6. Was colonialism harmful or beneficial to the countries that were colonized (especially interesting answers given the author is from India)?
7. Who “invented” science, democracy, and capitalism?
8. How does the philosophy of potential progress result in cultural development?
9. Why do so many people in the world LOVE the USA?
10. How can a democracy with separation of church and state result in a culture that is closer to God than a theocracy?
11. Do theocracies result in more or less abuse of human rights?
12. Were the founders of this country racist slave owners, or brilliant revolutionaries who were the first people in the history of the world to challenge slavery as an institution?
13. Does the US owe reparations to the slaves?
14. How did the brilliant avoidance of the mention of slavery in the constitution result in its eventual end?
15. Is the price of freedom moral decline?
16. Does America really believe in what it is fighting for and dying for around the world today? Should it?
If you know the answers to these questions and you live in the United States of America, you have to be thankful for the opportunity and freedom you enjoy. And you have to be thankful for the soldiers fighting around the world to provide freedom to others. If you’re unsure about the answers to the questions above, please read this book or the many others available that explain the deep and historical significance of the war on terror and the role of this country in the world.