Summary Of America By Dinesh D'souza

America was once a great country. People looked at this nation as the “land of opportunity,” because of the unlimited potential that could be reached by even the poorest. Now, America has a disreputable notoriety due to its constant mistakes. A continuous list of numerous incidents, hypocrisies, involvements, and self destructive factors have not only negatively shaped the minds of its own people, but also the rest of the world. This nation has created chaos in the Middle East, piled a massive amount of debt, violated its very own constitution and lost its integrity. Based off of these negative occurrences, there is no doubt that America has changed for the worse. Authors Dinesh D’Souza and John Hawkins disagree with this stance, however, there
are those such as Margaret Atwood or Stephen L. Carter who can properly recognize this issue. Despite America’s negative state, only one simple solution has been offered amongst these four authors in hopes of mending this broken country.
Margaret Atwood provides this solution within a form of a metaphor, which is used to appeal to the audience and clarify how America should go back to its old ways. Regardless of this solution, one current fact remains: that America is much worse now, as it was before. Author, Dinesh D’Souza, believes that the flaws of America are highly exaggerated. D’Souza uses a method of “compare and contrast” between America and the less fortunate countries in order to show the readers how fortunate America’s people really are. With this, he shows us how America could have taken a turn for the worse, and that we should be grateful for the privileges that are granted to us. In his article, D’Souza states, “In much of the world today, the average citizen has a very hard life. In the Third World, people are struggling for their basic existence. It
is not that they don't work hard. On the contrary, they labor incessantly and endure hardships that are almost unimaginable to people in America” (D’Souza). With this quote, D’Souza’s perspective mainly focuses on those who are less fortunate, and those who envy Americans because of their amenities. The problem with this stance lies in its logic. D’Souza’s “at least it could be worse” method of persuasion is unacceptable to say the least, because it promotes the idea of settling. The main objective of each empire, nation or country is to prosper, which cannot be done without societal advancement. Certain issues may arise at any given time within such nations, but to compare a higher nation with one that is significantly inferior only promotes gratitude. Yes, those who are born in America may be more fortunate than those in poorer countries, and yes, there are people living in this country who can truly appreciate what they have, but instead of comparing America to a country that is more inferior, the United States must be compared to a country that is more advanced. This way, the American people can look at such an advanced country and figure out how to be just as proficient, rather than blindly accepting this country for what it currently is. Author, John Hawkins, does not believe in America’s wrongdoings. He justifies America’s war interventions within the Middle East as a way of spreading democracy and freedom. Hawkins states, “What did we do when we invaded Iraq and Afghanistan? We set up free republics. The number of people who’ve moved from tyranny to freedom because of the
United States is in the hundreds of millions” (Hawkins). Hawkins uses this quote for the purpose of glorifying America’s actions, and supports his stance by showing the readers how America has freed people from oppression. The main issue with this is that he uses oversimplification in order to mask America’s true intent. Instead of mentioning America’s primary objective, which is oil, he makes it seem as if the only reason that America interfered in the Middle East was to provide democracy and freedom. In reality, America’s pursuit for oil has destroyed countless lives, especially on both sides. Even now, the tensions in the Middle east are rising as America continues to provide aid to various governments and militias. This of course, only causes further destruction. While it is true that America has provided freedom to those who desperately needed it, the very cost of this achievement was far too great. There is certainly no victory in liberating a certain region, and using the spreading of “freedom” as an excuse to kill hundreds of thousands of people, especially when oil is the primary factor. This is yet another way in which America has negatively changed. Margaret Atwood tends to disagree with these two articles. She believes that America has changed for the worse. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of America externally, she decides to shed light on America’s very own internal issues, one of which is a direct violation of its own principles. Atwood states “You’re gutting the Constitution. Already your home can be entered without your knowledge or permission, you can be snatched away and incarcerated without cause, your mail could be spied on, your private records searched” (Atwood 512). With this quote, she explains how the American Constitution, the very document that this country was built upon, is now violated by its own government. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to hear about civil rights violations and breach of protocol within law enforcement. Unauthorized searches and and infringement upon privacy is becoming more abundant. This is just one of the many examples that Atwood provides in order to reinforce her stance: That America has negatively changed, and is much worse now than it was before. Because of the numerous faults and imperfections that America now has, Atwood urges the American people to call upon the “great spirits” that this country once had in hopes of restoring the current state of America back to its original well-being (Atwood 512). This means that she believes that America can truly be great again, and that we must use the past as an exemplar in order to prosper once more. Author Stephen L. Carter also agrees that America must change, even though his points revolve around the word “integrity,” which he describes as a way of doing the right thing. Despite the state of America not being Carter’s main focus, he does give a valid statement that compares the word “integrity” with America. Carter says, “...it captures precisely what is wrong with America today: we care far more about winning than about playing by the rules” (Carter 179). With this being said, Carter explains how the principle of doing the right thing has nearly diminished in this country. People are no longer concerned with what is right or what is wrong. They are rather more interested in benefitting themselves. From this position, Carter implies that the moral standards of Americans are negatively shifting downwards. To sum it up, Dinesh D’Souza’s stance is invalid because he compares this nation to that of a lesser country in order to say “it could be worse,” instead of comparing the U.S.
to a country that is more superior and say, “it could be better.” John Hawkins’ stance is also invalid because of the use of oversimplification. While he mentions the good that came out of America’s Middle East intervention, he fails to shed light upon the total amount of death and destruction this nation has caused. Atwood certainly acknowledges America’s interference in the Middle East, and states, “I won’t go into the reasons why I think your recent Iraqi adventures have been — taking the long view — an ill-advised tactical error. By the time you read this, Baghdad may or may not look like the craters of the moon…” (Atwood 512). From this quote, it is clear that Atwood realizes America’s mistake, and believes that the destruction caused by the U.S. in Iraq was a terrible endeavour. She does not falsely use the idea of “spreading democracy” like Hawkins does in order to justify the destruction of an entire city. Stephen L. Carter’s argument is more specific, and focuses on the American people's morality, which he believes has taken a turn for the worse. I agree with Atwood and Carter, and disagree with D’Souza and Hawkins. America has definitely become worse throughout the years, as opposed to several decades ago because of its destruction caused in the Middle East, the breaching of its own
constitution, and its lack of morality.
In conclusion, America is in desperate need of change from its current state. The list of faults that this country has is too great to ignore, therefore, immediate change is required. The only way to improve this country is to return America’s past principles and moralities. This is a clear advantage that can only strengthen this country, and possibly reverse most, if not all of its damage. If anything, this country affects the entire world, so yes, this is a highly relevant matter which should not be taken lightly. Though there may be factors such as financial limitations (from America’s fiscal debt) that can stand as an obstacle for this nation, there is no doubt that once America applies itself and looks to its past, the stages of creating a new and improved nation will immediately come to effect. After all, the best way to improve is by learning from the past.