What is anti-American?

March 24, 2008

I took a little time off from thinking after yesterday’s post to fish (in WoW) and watch old Jack Benny shows. So I’m feeling a bit less nauseous, thanks, and that always helps the old puzzler.

So “Old Punk,” the contributor at the InstaPunk, thinks “black people” are anti-American because they frequently criticize and condemn American policies and don’t have bright sun-shiny memories of yester-year when children had respect for their elders, the dollar was on the gold standard, and black men were lynched if they were suspected of looking at white women. So what precisely, does it mean to be anti-American? I’ve been hearing that an awful lot recently.

Some attitudes can be ant-American in the sense of being contrary to American principles. A theocracy, a monarchy, and government censorship are all anti-American notions. But that’s political philosophy and not necessarily people. If you believed enough of these things you could be legitimately called “anti-American,” but mostly I think of that in terms of specific principles.

More broadly it means having a gut-level revulsion to American culture, hating anything and everything that’s American. You know, like some American conservatives are anti-French or anti-Muslim.

But in recent years it’s regained it’s old McCarthyite meaning of “disagreeing with conservatives.” If you disagree with a conservative, you’re anti-American. And if you’re anti-American that means you hate America, which means you’re secretly working to overthrow the government and implement Communism restore the Caliphate.

So: a red-herring. Is there any other context where it’s assumed that if you criticize someone then you are working for their downfall and against their interests? When you tell someone they need to slow down on the bourbon and they respond with “why is everyone against me? It’s my life, damn it!” that’s when you hope you have Betty Ford on speed dial. Not because you hate the drunkard, you understand, but because you want what’s best for him.

But mention America’s genocide of American Indians or the systemic (and continuing) oppression and brutalization of black people or how American economic practices have exacerbated poverty and extremism in the Middle East and you’re a “blame America first”er, anti-Americian, and fifth column.

That is, unless you participate in the five-minutes-of-hate ritual and condemn every extremist anyone can think of that might be related to you or your political position. Have you ever noticed how that five minutes is like flair: you can never have enough to suit some people.

Programmers call something like this a “rabbit hole:” a pointless, unproductive pursuit that ultimately leads you into deeply strange territory.

I’m at a loss to say how to deal with this, though. I mean, you can call bullshit on it but that doesn’t work unless everyone understands that it’s bullshit. Ideally you’d give the guy detention until he learned how to have a polite conversation like an adult but it’s hard to do that to someone with a radio contract or a congressional seat. Anyone have any ideas?

Posted in Politics