Posted by Tina
Like many of my compatriots, I am both appalled and deeply offended at the constant characterization that America is an elitist and brutal war mongering nation filled with hateful bigots and racists. It is particularly offensive since America fought a war to end slavery, endured a decade or more of civil unrest to eradicate the last vestiges of discrimination, and has been a liberator and defender of the oppressed again and again throughout it’s young life.
One of the biggest points of shame and blame is the contention that America is the only nation to use the atomic bomb. The difficult decision to drop two bombs on Japan to end the war saved both Japanese and American lives…in making that decision America stood for freedom and fought against tyranny. While it’s true that we dropped two bombs on Japan at the end of WWII it is not true that this horrific weapon, which killed about 200,000 Japanese, is the most deadly or unthinkable of all weapons. Some perspective is in order.
Given the atmosphere in America today it never hurts to remind ourselves that we are the good guys. Joshua Gelertner of the Weekly Standard offers this vital perspective in his article, “The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon.” A list I compiled from his excellent article, follows:
In World War I, gas killed about 90,000 people
World War II, gas was used to kill 6,000,000 Jews
The Japanese used anthrax, cholera and the bubonic plague to kill about 400,000 Chinese
Following the return of Lenin to Russia by the Germans, Communism, as reported in The Black Book of Communism (through 1997) is responsible for “20 million murdered in the Soviet Union, 65 million in Communist China, 2 million in Cambodia, 2 million in North Korea, 1.7 million in Ethiopia, 1.5 million in Afghanistan, 1 million in Vietnam, 1 million in the Eastern European Communist states, 150,000 in Cuba and Latin America, and 10,000 from international Communist terrorism.
Where would the world be today had America been unable to stand against these forces of human destruction and death? America stands for freedom and equal justice under the law. It’s important to remember that. It’s also important to notice who in our nation is attempting to portray our nation as evil and convince our children that America’s citizens are bigots, racists, and war mongers. The people we have liberated come in all sizes, shapes and races. The model we offer as an example is not imposed…we are not an imperialist, war mongering, racist, hateful, dangerous ugly nation! We are America the beautiful…and we can be proud of that.
An aside: I was working on this article back in May. I don’t know what got in the way of publishing it but, although it’s not a subject currently in the news today, it’s valuable for the information it offers and the positive message of America it conveys. Young people especially have been subjected to a very negative point of view regarding our great nation and we cannot let that stand. Hope you all enjoy the perspective supplied by Mr. Gelertner as much as I did.