Never Say You're Sorry

American elected leader who 
apologizes to Europe and the 
Middle East that our country is "arrogant"!

HOW MANY FRENCH, DUTCH, ITALIANS, 
BELGIANS AND BRITS ARE BURIED ON 
OUR SOIL... AFTER DEFENDING US 
AGAINST OUR ENEMIES?

WE DON'T ASK FOR PRAISE...

BUT WE HAVE ABSOULUTELY NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE!

Americans, forward it!

Non-patriotic, delete it!

Most of the protected don't understand it.

DO THINK ABOUT THIS.

THANK YOU.

I received this message on Memorial Day from one of the few right wing friends who tolerate my letters. It was preceded by numerous pictures of tombstones of American servicemen killed presumably in helping “foreigners.” I thought the closing instructions added a nice touch, so considering myself a patriotic American I have no choice but to follow orders and forward it.

Us folks on the left get this sort of stuff too, some of it accusing the other side of even worse. But I’ve never noticed any of this “pass it on” business. Our guys don’t have to do this because they’re expressing opinions on events that are common knowledge on which the other guys usually have contrary opinions. You can take or leave either because we all know the facts on which they’re based. But these guys invent their own facts, in this case Obama’s apologizing for America’s arrogance. For this sort of thing you have to use word of mouth to get traction, otherwise nobody would “know.”

I believe this particular fiction blossomed from criticism of Obama for not stressing “American exceptionalism” in his international speech from Cairo. What his critics forget is that the speech was directed to a world audience which reacted enthusiastically, rather than to the likes of Grover Norquist, Yes, Grover Norquist has likes. I still cling to the old fashioned notion that telling other people how superior you are to them is not the way to win their goodwill. .

   

Not that we have nothing to apologize for. Quite the contrary! Off the top of my head I can think of the second atomic bomb, (the first was at least arguable) restoring the Shah, and our military actions in Vietnam and Iraq. As evidence of our arrogance the xenophobes who shout about American exceptionalism do the job. In view of our standing among industrialized nations in just about everything that isn’t military, you can throw in ignorance for good measure.