Why the Left Hates America: Exposing the Lies That Have Obscured Our Nation's Greatness by Daniel J. Flynn
A quick and thought-provoking read
Originally published in 2002 by Prima Lifestyles.
Originally published in 2002 by Prima Lifestyles.
The thesis of Why the Left Hates America: Exposing the Lies That Have Obscured Our Nation's Greatness, an exceedingly-well footnoted book, is that some on the ultra-left of the American political scene have pet theories that they espouse and that they hate it when facts do not bear out their theories. Among these are what Flynn calls "The Five Big Lies".
The Five Big Lies are:
1. American women live under a patriarchy.
2. America is the World's leading threat to the environment.
3. America is a racist nation.
4. The US is an imperial power.
5. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
Flynn quotes his opponents extensively and then rebuts their arguments with his own extensive research from a wide variety of sources (he has over 500 end-notes, often with commentary - not a small task).
Flynn does not claim that the US is perfect in any of the above 5 areas. Far from it. He just submits that some on the left have given themselves over to hyperbole and unfairly characterized America and Americans.
Who is the Left that he is disputing? Not any of the normal run-of-the-mill politicians in the Democratic Party (the one that is the "left" in normal political terms for those political novices out there), but rather the ultra-left, such as Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Ted Turner, Stokely Carmichael, Cornel West, Patricia Ireland to name a few. I was put in mind of an ultra-feminist that taught my English 101 class at Indiana University. The poetry and essays and short story assignments were all about sexism and racism. I was told to write what I thought, but the only time I got above a "C" was when I wrote what she thought.
Anyway, this is a quick and thought-provoking read that has the added bonus of being very enjoyable to read.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Why the Left Hates America: Exposing the Lies That Have Obscured Our Nation's Greatness
I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.
Reviewed in February of 2005.
5-28-2025: UPDATE. I removed Flynn's now defunct website from the review. I looked for a new site and I could not find one. He is a regular contributor to standard conservative publications like National Review and The American Spectator - his works are easy to find there.
It's been 20 years since this review was written. Donald J. Trump arrived on the political scene 10 years ago and changed the Conservative Movement. Those changes were too much for me. I doubt I would care much for this book now, but I am not going to take down my review. Flynn seems to be strident, but not nuts.
The Five Big Lies are:
1. American women live under a patriarchy.
2. America is the World's leading threat to the environment.
3. America is a racist nation.
4. The US is an imperial power.
5. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
 |
| Daniel J. Flynn |
Flynn does not claim that the US is perfect in any of the above 5 areas. Far from it. He just submits that some on the left have given themselves over to hyperbole and unfairly characterized America and Americans.
Who is the Left that he is disputing? Not any of the normal run-of-the-mill politicians in the Democratic Party (the one that is the "left" in normal political terms for those political novices out there), but rather the ultra-left, such as Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Ted Turner, Stokely Carmichael, Cornel West, Patricia Ireland to name a few. I was put in mind of an ultra-feminist that taught my English 101 class at Indiana University. The poetry and essays and short story assignments were all about sexism and racism. I was told to write what I thought, but the only time I got above a "C" was when I wrote what she thought.
Anyway, this is a quick and thought-provoking read that has the added bonus of being very enjoyable to read.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Why the Left Hates America: Exposing the Lies That Have Obscured Our Nation's Greatness
I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.
Reviewed in February of 2005.
5-28-2025: UPDATE. I removed Flynn's now defunct website from the review. I looked for a new site and I could not find one. He is a regular contributor to standard conservative publications like National Review and The American Spectator - his works are easy to find there.
It's been 20 years since this review was written. Donald J. Trump arrived on the political scene 10 years ago and changed the Conservative Movement. Those changes were too much for me. I doubt I would care much for this book now, but I am not going to take down my review. Flynn seems to be strident, but not nuts.
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