I'm sure it exists out there somewhere. I'm sure there are Norwegians that despise Norway, South Africans who despise South Africa, Argentinians who despise Argentina. To be clear, I don't mean citizens who disagree with the actions of their current government, who loathe the political party that presently controls the helm of public policy. Of course that permeates every culture in the history of mankind. There were Babylonians who thought Nebuchadnezzar was a loon, no doubt.
What I'm legitimately curious about is whether there is another society on the globe where a significant portion of the population makes a living - a healthy living - doing nothing but publishing their hatred for the complete ethos and history of their own civilization. Is there a country where people rise in prominence solely based on their fervent dedication to amplifying every fault, magnifying every mistake, downplaying every virtue, and minimizing every contribution of their national legacy?
And worse, even when there isn't a sin to slam, a chorus of critics simply rewrite history or distort the past to create one.
For example, the new film "Oppenheimer," a movie that examines the individuals and events leading to the development of the atomic bomb during WWII, has sparked a renewed public discussion of America's use of those bombs on the Japanese Empire. To be sure, there is a legitimate, nuanced, academic debate about Truman's decision. But to see this hairbrained proposition from two years ago resurface, despite the fact that it is found nowhere in the extensive literature or historical record of the bomb controversy, is depressing:
In case you don't recognize her, that's Nikole Hannah-Jones, a woman paid by the nation's "newspaper of record," The New York Times, to write about history. Our history. She rose to prominence with another wildly anti-American narrative called the 1619 Project that claimed in its original release to, "reframe the country's history, understanding 1619 as our true founding." The point was simple: the evil of slavery was the real story of American history, and everything else we have been led to believe is a lie.
Historians systematically debunked the core of Hannah-Jones' work, to the point that she virulently denies her original claim, now stating her work, "doesn't argue, for obvious reasons, that 1619 is our true founding."
Yet despite the intellectual embarrassment that this "project" became, the Times continues to prop up Hannah-Jones' faux history, even as she has demonstrated little ability to offer anything meaningful beyond easily-disproven, anti-American claims. Consider, her lie about the atomic bomb.
- Historians debate the accuracy of Truman's estimated casualty figures - both American and Japanese - should the war have continued without the use of the bomb.
- Historians debate whether the use of the bomb was primarily an attempt to intimidate the Soviets.
- Historians note from broken Japanese code that they were preparing for significant defense of the home islands in the fall of 1945.
- Historians note that not only did the Japanese not surrender after the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb, there was an internal coup (the Kyūjō incident) in Japan to try to prevent surrender even after Nagasaki.
In other words, Nikole Hannah-Jones had, once again, simply made something up and pretended it was credible history. Yet she got to keep her job, to cash a paycheck, to conduct television interviews, to receive academic awards, and more. Why? Because she hates her country?
Is that not just weird?
Two years ago, I had a foreign exchange student from South America. I found it interesting that along with taking courses in their own country's history back home, the young man said students there also took basic courses in American history. The influence of the United States on the world was so profound, his country's education standards required some working knowledge of who we were. I asked him what the books there said about us, and what his peers thought of us. His assessment was surprisingly positive, before he added, "We think America is great. I had to come here to learn all about why it's not."
Ouch.
Obviously I understand no civilization of man is perfect. American history, like anywhere else, includes blights and embarrassments. Power corrupts here, greed and vice tempt here, every bit as much as they do elsewhere. But why is running down America such a lucrative business in America?
