In Defense Of America

The so last year playbook is still being played. The drill is: The world has turned againt Great Satan. Anti-American sentiments have swept the globe. Foreign leaders, pundits, and ordinary people decry the United States, at best proclaiming their heartbreak that the American values they once admired have vanished, and at worst condemning America as a criminal state beyond redemption.

Regime changing Iraq (defeating the largest Arab army in history in 20 days!) on a guess no less, blowing off Kyoto, the spread of American movies, American music, KFC and Mickey D's unto the ends of the earth. Not to mention the barbaric practise of executing killers, often after years of incarceration.

All this unbound wickedness piles up faster on a girl than uncles at a Thanksgiving game of touch football and tend to create

"... a feeling that the United States, once a force for good in the world, is
abusing its position as the world's sole superpower. "

Anglo American Bronwen Maddox is a hottie union jackie brainiac. Dot of Sir John and Lady Evelyn Maddox she gets to gig at Times Online UK - a new millennium adjunct of an ancient daily in Great Britain.

Bronwen cuts through some of the inappropriate and frankly boring, incorrect and weak (fact wise and mentally too) handwringing in her brand spanking new book "In Defense Of America" ( 232 pages Little, Brown & Company in Azure Frabrique with Gold gilt lettering design by Karen Horten at Art Resource NYC, ISBN-13: 9780316032230)

"Careful what you wish for" is a cool chapter that sweetly points out with all the subtlety of an M1 panzer that Great Satan's critics should carefully consider whether they truly want what they have wished for. Hoping for a bound Great Satan is self deluding if they think this would make them feel better off.

Like Joffre cannily connotates in the German version of dissing Eurobamagasms in "Short Term Relationship"

"This, of course, is Europe's favorite dream: a post-Bush America cut down to size and chastened, a meeker and more modest America, a more "European" (that is, a more social-democratic) America, which at last casts off some of its nastier capitalist habits. An America that is a lot more like us Europeans who have forgone power politics and sovereignty in favor of communitarian politics and integration."

A rowdy Russia and a chicanery coveting China may not be too particulary concerned about neighbors, internat'l accords struck in good faith, fair trading policies or free transit through the worlds oceans. Not to mention quaint ideas like human rights, free media or concepts like personal property.

Lucky for them despite all the threats Great Satan faces - she is most very likely to retain her position as top cat - uniquely powerful - the only one of her kind - the world's sole hyperpower.

Bronwen also has a few caveats for Great Satan. One in partic is actually a case that should repeatedly used against critics that bring it up like a nerf ball bat at a kids BDay party to capture and maintain attention (many times attention spans are roughly twice the length of whatever disciplinary device disciplinees are threatened with).

In "The Indfensible: Guantanamo And Tortue" Bronwen points out many foreign cats friendly and not so friendly are distressed that less than a 100 off shore Great Satan's sunny climes lies a new millennium Dachau - inmates hideously re nomenclatured as 'detainees' - a legal def btw that pretty much defines detainees as "...prisoners until..."

"Until when?" is the question that Maddox leaves hanging like Damocles' blade - just kinda hanging.

Actually, the answer is quite simple. If civilized states around the globe are truly concerned perhaps Gitmo could be used as a fun friendly reminder - that Americans are crazy and unpredictable. And downright scary and deadly in wartime.

Thus to avoid any other Gitmolike garrisons, secret prisons or exponentionally increasing 'detainees' the burden is on distressed states to flex their military, spy and police muscles to marginalize, incarcerate or kill unfree, unfun and unhinged intolerants.

Afghanistan would be a wonderful place to start. Troops on the ground, in harms way to protect tiny baby states from having their tiny baby heads choked plumb off would give tons more bling to what could be described as ingrate, idealistic, uninformed sour mouthings.

"In Defense Of America" is not all that - yet Bronwen shows how critics of America take the best of her for granted and exaggerate the worst.

They give Great Satan way too little credit for their own freedom and wealth, and struggle to fend off a monolithic American culture that does not exist.

Opponents often unfairly equate American mistakes with moral failings, and how Great Satan frequently could be said to make her own case badly, even when she is on strong ground.

Bronwen reinforces the fact of a world in danger of fighting to keep Great Satan at bay, when the harder task is to give Great Satan good reason to keep engaged.

There are some good bits to have on hand in a library - especially for Great Satan fans.