View all 6 comments. May 15, John Martindale rated it it was amazing Shelves: The following are a few reflections I had from the first section of the book, where D'Souza writes about Western colonialism. Plenty have embrace the belief that the West is the root of much evil; that it was the Western Colonialist that impoverished the rest of the world; pillaging, raping, conquering and enslaving the innocent nations of the world and enforcing western culture on them.
They believe the West is rich only because it exploited, enslaved and stole it's wealth from the rest of the w The following are a few reflections I had from the first section of the book, where D'Souza writes about Western colonialism. They believe the West is rich only because it exploited, enslaved and stole it's wealth from the rest of the world.
Multi-culturalism is popular today as well; the claim that the West is no better than any other nation. The head-hunters and those who practice human sacrifices to their gods, and bury babies alive to satisfy evil spirits, are just as good as the Western civilization. Westerners shouldn't try to influence other nations or push their values on them. What is odd, is places like India that are now free from Britain, ended up maintaining and keeping many western ways, though it was unnecessary for them to do so.
It seems future generations ended up preferring a better standard of living, rule of law, less fighting, technology and thus stuck with it. I want to think that some cultures are a little more close to certain moral ideals than other cultures. And yet, is there a measuring stick by which we can determine this? Is it longer life spans, better health, wide spread prosperity, justice, tolerance and charity?
How is it that the West conquered the world? Once the Islamic world and China were far superior to the Western world, which was incredibly backward. One theory is everything had to do with geography and resources, but this doesn't explain the sudden rise of the west in modern times, who started far in the rear. Another popular view is the West is evil; they were ethnocentric, colonialist, slave masters, etc But what is silly about this view, is it acts as if all the other nations of the world were not.
China for example thought they were the center of the world. Islamic countries thought they had the one truth and everyone else should fall in line. The most backward tribes deep in the jungle likely thought they were the apogee of how life should be lived. One reason why the West begin to dominate the world, is cultural development doesn't necessarily go to those nations that invent things, but those nations that adopt the new technology and run with it. That is one thing the Western World did. The West sought to learn from superior nations of the time, while some Islamic nations for example thought they could learn nothing from anyone else.
Nations like China didn't allow wide-spread use of their inventions, which were horded by the Emperor and the elite, but these same inventions like the printing press, revolutionized the West. The West were a curious people, exploring and discovering and quickly evolving. Also, America had a unique view of progress--that the future could be better then the past, and it praised hard work and business. Colonialism is not by any means a phenomenon of the West, almost every part of the world has been conquered again and again by different empires, all this long before the rise of the West.
It seems inconsistent to demand the Western countries to pay for their past sins, without demanding every other nation to pay for their past sin. The other problem is when does it end? America could give backs some states to Mexico, but they took it from Native Indians, who took it from other natives, who took it from other natives. Colonialism was horrible for those being evaded and subjugated by the West, but it has been incredibly beneficial for future generations who now have much better standards of living.
This doesn't justify what the west did, but its a fact that good came out of it. Think about Scotland, it was a backward, brutal land of constant fighting, until England conquered it, and then from Scotland came some of the best educational institutions and renowned intellectuals. If England had not conquered it, the people would have still been illiterate tribes slaughtering and being slaughtered by surrounding tribes.
The empire building and spreading of culture has ultimately reduced violence and wars. The empire building is a fact of the past, indeed it was incredibly evil, but as we still benefit from Judaeo, Grecian and Roman influences from past Empires, likewise, the whole world is now benefiting from once being part of Western colonies. Of course, there are negatives abounding too, there is no way to do a cost, benefit analyses, its a mix bag. But whats done is done, we need to remember that it was many in the West that begin to see that such conquest, even if good ultimately resulted, was evil.
The end didn't justify the means, and of course the good consequences were not always intended by the conquerors, but a byproduct of the spread of civilization. Thank goodness the west as a whole now believes conquest is an evil. Singling out the West is immature, for this barbaric institution is as old as history itself and was practiced in every part of the world. It took Christians in the Western world to challenge one of the oldest institutions in the world. Africans even sent delegates to the West to protest the abolition of slavery, for it was such a lucrative business in Africa.
It wasn't the ones being enslaved that ended slavery, but those who were capable of being masters. Every nation of the world has suffered from racism--the fear of the other. Its a plague found everywhere. Once again, thank goodness for the West, the first to recognize and condemn this institution. The West develop capitalism, science, democracy and the idea of progress So yeah, these are reflections from the first section laying the ground work, before he even gets to America, this part echos "Conquest and Culture" by Thomas Sowell, but yeah, I really love this book, this review is already way to long, other wise I would hope to summarize the rest of the book, which was excellent.
It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world. D'Souza's quote sums up his feelings about his adopted country, and what makes it so great. This book is clear and poetically written by a man who immigrated to America with his family and has sought out what's best about it.
Dec 31, Eric rated it really liked it Shelves: Dinesh D'Souza has written a powerful and well-reasoned defense of America and Western civilization. He takes on objections and criticisms from all ideological corners, such as liberals, conservatives, and Muslim fanatics, and answers them all. In the introduction, D'Souza compares the American situation - facing an implacable foe in a war against terrorism - with Athens facing the Spartans.
He quotes a funeral oration by Pericles. The parallels are striking. Some examples from Pericles' speech: It is more the case of our being a model to others, than of our imitating anyone. Pericles brags about Athens' freedom and openness: Pericles makes this request: D'Souza asks the question: Why do they hate us? He lists three schools of foreign criticism of America: The European, or French, school fears that American culture will obliterate local culture and languages. Too many McDonalds and no more French cuisine. The Asian school approves of American-style commerce and capitalism but not social and cultural problems.
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The Asian school seeks America's material benefits while maintaining social order. The radical Islamic school hates our support for Israel and undemocratic regimes in the Middle East. It rejects all modernization as American and therefore bad. America is a subversive idea that undermines cherished traditional and cultural morals. It destroys society and replaces it with a worse one. D'Souza concedes the radical Muslims have a point: What stands out about the Islamic critique is its refreshing clarity. The Islamic thinkers cannot be counted in the ranks of the politically correct.
Painful though it is to admit, they aren't entirely wrong about America either. They say that many Americans see them as a bunch of uncivilized towel heads, and this is probably true. They charge that America is a society obsessed with material gain, and who will deny this? They condemn the West as an atheistic civilization, and while they may be wrong about the extent of religious belief and practice, they are right that in the West religion has little sway over the public arena, and the West seems to have generated more unbelief than any other civilization in world history. They are disgusted by our culture, and we have to acknowledge that there is a good deal in American culture that is disgusting to normal sensibilities.
They say our women are "loose," and in a sense they are right. Even their epithet for the United States, the Great Satan, is appropriate when we reflect that Satan is not a conqueror - he is a tempter. The Islamic militants fear that the idea of America is taking over their young people, breaking down allegiances to parents and religion and traditional community; this concern on their part is also justified.
According to Sayyid Qutb, a radical Muslim who founded the terrorist group Muslim Brotherhood, America and the West have "separated the realm of God from the realm of society. Allah and the state are one. America and Islam are therefore incompatible and a threat to each other, and cannot coexist.
Now, this is the terrorist Muslim talking, not the far more numerous and reasonable traditional Muslim.
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But it's interesting how various American critics agree with segments of this argument. For example, conservatives criticize America for its crime, abortion, illegitimacy and pornography. The left says America is sexist, racist, homophobic, and oppresses people all over the world. So is America worth fighting for? Before answering, D'Souza, who was born in India, offers two cheers for colonialism, which is cursed by multiculturalists for most if not all the evils in the world today.
American students are taught multiculturalism, which asserts that all cultures are equal and good, and are not taught the truth, which is that Western civilization rules the world, and most cultures want, at the very least, the material advances and freedom offered by the West. But why is Western civilization dominant?
There are two theories and both appeal to America's critics. The environmental theory says the West is blessed with natural resources and good weather, but that doesn't explain anything, because the West has always had those but has not always been dominant.
The second theory is oppression, because Western civilization is evil and "grew rich and powerful by beating up on everybody else and taking their stuff. Ethnocentrism may be a sin but everybody's doing it.
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All civilizations have practiced it by thinking they're the best. But only the West has transcended it by examining and learning from other cultures. The ancient and advanced Islam and Chinese civilizations had little desire to learn from others because they felt the others had nothing to offer. But the West practiced colonialism and slavery!
But colonialism and slavery also are not unique to the West - both have existed and flourished everywhere. England was the eighth or ninth colonial power to rule India, for example. What is unique to the West is abolition. African chiefs who profited from the slave trade sent delegations to the West opposing abolition! Slaves were in no position to free themselves - they had to rely on white strangers willing to die so black strangers could be free. Colonialism was oppressive to those who lived under it, but beneficial to later generations. India learned about freedom, democracy, rule of law, self-government, from their oppressors, giving them the tools to fight for their own freedom.
In other words, "the colonialists brought things to India that have immeasurably enriched the lives of the descendants of colonialism.
Colonialism was the transmission belt that brought to India the blessings of Western civilization. Not because it stole anything - there wasn't enough to steal. It's because the West created three vital institutions: Western colonialism and imperialism were not the cause of the West's fortune, but the result of it. If America and Western civilization are so controversial and unpopular, why does everyone want to liver here?
Money is not the end in itself, but the means to achieve a better life. Life choices are available within a strict parameter established by parents and community. D'Souza also argues against reparations for slavery, and indeed turns the question around by asking what blacks owe whites for ending slavery. The American founders were not hypocrites, as many critics charge.
For example, the American Constitution's notorious three-fifths clause was anti-slavery and pro-black in intent and effect by limiting slave states' representation in Congress. The American founders faced a dilemma: If they abolished slavery without the consent of the governed, they'd commit a gross violation of representative democracy.
We are shaped by both heredity, as well as environment. What traits have you inherited from your parents that make you unique? The size and build of our body is genetically encoded. However, how we care for our bodies determines what it looks like. Check out the following questions: Are you slim or overweight? Are you fit or out of shape? Are you flexible enough to touch your toes? Is your body able to practise sports, or dance, or do yoga, or train in martial arts?
If you have a physical disability, are you stretching your capability to the limit, or not? The face is a mirror of the soul. If we are kindly and upbeat, our face looks animated and relaxed. If we feel down, or anxious or ill, our face looks tight and grey. What is your face like? Do you take moments to relax your face? What is your culture? Is it followed by the majority or a minority of the people around you? In what way does your culture influence your life? We are born with a particular voice and its resonance, tone and pitch.
However, it can be developed — as actors and singers know. What is your unique voice like? Do you speak with an accent or a dialect? The way we pronounce the language we use is a unique marker. Gender is only partly determined by body formation. What masculine and feminine traits do you see in yourself? What really shapes our uniqueness is the attitude to health. What is your attitude?
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Are you pro-active or passive? Do you complain or actively seek healing? Hormonal patterns determine whether we are tired, or hungry, or irritated, or lustful. What hormonal patterns or surges are noticeable in your life and how do they influence you? Age is a biological factor.
But it is also influenced by the mind. Do you feel old and unfit, as well as low on energy and drive? Or do you feel vitally alive, energetic and youthful?
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If you want to feel youthful, you need to put effort into keeping your mind and body in good shape. How do you keep in good shape? Being intelligent is not only having a high IQ. Intelligence is now seen to include social, emotional, and physical aptitude. Your mix of these strands of intelligence is what makes you unique. How do you maintain and develop your intelligence? Functional programming enthusiasts myself included would argue that side effects are too easy in these languages but convincing someone that any kind of programming is too easy is a hard sell.
A set of operations that works in one case can work in every case: Understanding is not a matter of having knowledge so much as trusting the core idea in such a way that we can derive everything else through induction. Any single concrete example doesn't help; they showcase Redux's verbosity without demonstrating its expressivity. We forget that our enlightenment came only through our own repeated failures and misunderstandings. I would like us to admit we have a problem.
Redux is simple, but it is not easy. This is a valid design choice, but it is nevertheless a tradeoff. Many people would benefit from a tool that traded some of the simplicity for ease-of-use. The only absolutely necessary API features of react are React. Building these features into React made it more complicated, but they also made it better. Are we, the Redux community, ready to create it?
JavaScript IS object oriented, just not class-based.