Review of America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014) by Mike R — 25 Jul 2014

I liked it. Many reviewers either didn't really watch it, are being intentionally obtuse, or, that is their normal state.

One reviewer got it so wrong, I feel I must clarify...maybe the reviewer will actually watch it if I do.

The essence of the movie is not to excuse America for past mistakes, bad judgement, and, yes, even crimes; it simply asks why America should bear a greater burden of guilt than those nations which made the SAME errors.

So, theft of land from the native tribes is not excused by the fact that it occurred by the same methods as those tribes used; D'Souza simply asks why America is condemned for it while those tribes who committed the SAME "offense" are forgiven.

Theft of Labor from slaves: This is a literary method common to many writers...provide consistency by using the same formula for all arguments. If you actually watched the movie, you'd see the section below that header called "Further crimes." Again, he did not attempt to argue that it was not a crime, he simply asks why our nation's burden of guilt should be so all encompassing that we should cease to exist, while others who committed the same crime are easily and summarily forgiven.

Theft of land from Mexico: Again, we gave half the country back. By the rules of that time, rules that all other victorious armies followed, we would have been justified and expected to keep the whole thing. So why is America's burden of guilt for keeping HALF greater than those victorious nations who kept ALL?

It's not theft of independence through foreign policy...it's theft of resources that is the accusation. The Vietnam story is simply that Vietnam has nothing we can't get cheaper and easier here. Our purpose was to stop totalitarianism that degrades individuals to parts of a whole rather than the individual as a whole. Same with WWI and WWII. With some exceptions, we fight as Liberators not Conquerors. But, we are expected to bear guilt for our wars when real conquerors are forgiven.

Theft of wealth by capitalism: AGAIN! Why should Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and any other creator of wealth and desirable products feel guilty for creating wealth and desirable products? The iPhone was NOT designed and produced to make you happy, it was designed and produced to make Apple profitable...HUGELY profitable. Apple is simply smart enough to understand that the best way to get you to part with your hard-earned money is to give you something you want that makes you happy. Should they cry all the way to the bank? Or should they use some of that profit to design and produce better things that you want that make you happy..and, incidentally, happy to pay for?

I liked that Bhagwati was interviewed, but I wish D'Souza would have included DUP in the section on Capitalism. DUP is "Directly Unproductive Profitseeking." That's where businesses "invest" in lobbying for advantages rather than investing in R&D. It's cheaper and surer to "buy" bureaucrats and politicians than to actually produce popular products. However, that's not the type of investment America stands for; even though it's the most common now. If Constitutional limits were enforced, DUP could not be successful since the government would not have the power to give advantages to "campaign contributors.".

Bottom line: It's a very good movie. But you should actually listen to what is said rather than using the basic premise to put your own words into D'Souza's mouth.