Blame America First

President Obama traveled to Latin America last week and used his world stage, once again, to assure foreign leaders that America is but one culture among many and to apologize for America's greatness.  Expounding on his campaign promise to promote equality, Obama assured America's foes that the United States is no better than any third world country. "I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership," Obama said to Venezuela dictator Chavez. "There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations." He then proceeded to, once again, apologize for America's arrogance. Obama's much vaunted tolerance was proudly on display as he politely endured a 50 minute anti-US diatribe from Nicaragua dictator Daniel Ortega. He then graciously, and publicly accepted a book from his new buddy, Venezuela dictator Chavez. Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, a virulently anti-American book, instantly skyrocketed to #6 on Amazon. The left is rejoicing at the apparent instant friendship between President Obama and thug Chavez, celebrating the vindication of their long-held belief that dialogue is better than war and that apologizing for America is a cool way to win friends and influence people. Mea culpa is now official U.S. policy. In Mexico earlier last week, Obama took the occasion to blame America for all the gun violence in Mexico. Despite the fact that the report he was echoing has been thoroughly discredited, Obama stoically echoed the 'fake but accurate', theme made popular by the likes of (discredited) Dan Rather, (discredited Nobel prize winning author) Rigoberta Menchu, (discredited sex researcher) Kinsey..., well, you get the idea. President Obama promised he would reach out to the rest of the world. One of his main campaign pledges was a vow to make everyone like us. Never mind that that kind of thinking is usually seen only among school kids. Obama wants us to be popular. And now we are. Just as long as we're humble and continue kowtowing to despots. The problem is, our new best friends are not very savory characters. From Castro to Kim Jong Il to Achmadenijad to Chavez, these guys are the school yard bullies. They routinely kill their own citizens, they impose law by fiat, they jail or kill any dissidents and generally impose their will on all citizens unfortunate enough to reside in their countries. But hey, it works for them. Liberals, oops, progressives, hold the belief that dialogue, not guns, will cause third world dictators to realize and then remedy the error of their ways. Totally absent from their equation is any recognition of past history. Namely, the last 20 or so years that produced lots of words and dialogue yet spectacularly failed to influence or change any actions or policies. Believing that his charm can trump reality, President Obama remains intent on changing the world. But first, America has to be brought down to size. We must acknowledge yet again the sins of our past and, like celebrities who hit bottom, apologize profusely and publicly and then enter rehab to assure the world we are, indeed, sorry. Obama is a great communicator who convincingly tells the world what they've yearned to hear. Namely, that America is arrogant. And we're sorry. And by the way, our system of, gasp, capitalism, despite being the engine that has fed the world, is flawed. And we're sorry. Our culture is responsible for all the world's ills, and we're sorry about that too. Mea culpa, mea culpa. On the bright side, now that the Obama administration has branded most conservatives as extremists and terrorists, maybe Obama will apologize to them too. Ya think?
America's new president is well suited to displaying America's humility. That's because he really believes what he is saying. One need only look at his 20 year attendance at a church that preached hatred of America. One need only look at his (now former) associates, domestic terrorists Bill Dorn and wife. One need only listen to Michelle Obama's own words on her 'pride' in America. One need only read Obama's own book. America is to blame for everything wrong in the world. Case closed. Let's move on. Oh, and we're sorry. When I asked my beautiful and smart, yet decidedly liberal niece, Sarah, why she voted for Obama, she thought a moment and then said, "He believes in the same things I do." When asked to expound, she said, "Equality." 68 million Americans voted for Obama based on the same lofty ideal. Equality, inclusion, tolerance, multiculturalism and the 'fake but accurate' belief that America is a racist, arrogant and imperial nation that needs to atone to the world for its sin of freedom and greatness.

The left, as exemplified by Obama, firmly believe all of life is a zero-sum game i.e.: if someone is rich, its always at the expense of the poor. A person, business or country is only successful because they hijacked success from those less fortunate. They view America as a nation of victims, oppressed by those that have the audacity to become successful and/or rich (without government help). The 62 million Americans who didn't vote for Obama think differently. They believe, based on history, that kowtowing to dictators is interpreted as a sign of weakness. They believe, based on reality, that all the carrots in the world will not change the minds of enemies dedicated to America's downfall. They know from experience that accepting or rewarding bad behavior only encourages more bad behavior. They know, and Reagan proved, that America's strength, real and perceived, is the single largest factor in avoiding war with recalcitrant dictators. Equality is a wonderful concept. But, as Laurence Reed of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) says, "Citizens of free countries are not equal. And countries where citizens are equal, are not free." That is a reality that no amount of rhetoric or mea culpas can change. Sorry.