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Au contraire, Mr. Campos, America is exceptional

Wednesday, October 17 at 6:30 PM

This Speakout has not been edited.

By Michael Trimble

Paul Campos takes the position that all nations are essentially equal in that all act for their own selfish purposes, and it is delusional to think one’s own country might act from altruism (“Delusion of exceptionalism,” Oct. 2).

This line of reasoning is nothing new. Social biologists have been saying for decades that altruism is really just miss-labeled selfishness, that nothing is done by anyone except for selfish ends. All Campos has done is to expand the model to encompass a nations and governments, and I’m sure he is not the first to generalize the theory in this way. Since Darwinism is hard put to explain true altruism in individuals, how could one expect nations to behave differently?

It is an interesting phenomena to observe: Leftists generally and genuinely seem to believe that individuals are basically good at heart, and if only there is sufficient self-esteem present, individuals will overwhelmingly be helpful and supportive of each other. Faceless entities, such as evil “corporations” and selfish “nations” are presumed to be inherently narcissistic and greedy, along with the amorphous “rich.”

All of these, suppose those on the political left, can be relied upon to act in their own interest, at the expense of the victims they prey upon. But Campos overlooks the obvious. Nations, like corporations, are made up of individuals. As are political parties. As are Boy Scout troops, churches, charities, and all other sorts of affiliations.

Even both MoveOn.org and the NRA are made up of individuals. In fact, what is arguable the most darling tenet of the left in current times, namely the beneficial aspects and value of “diversity,” relies upon the principle that individuals effect the views, policies and behaviors of whatever groups they are involved with.

Is nationalism delusional? Campos thinks so. Leftists in general probably think so — after all, saying the US of A is the greatest nation on Earth is almost forbidden speech in leftist circles (count on it: somewhere some leftist is reading this right now, nodding his head, saying, “obviously, one nation cannot be ‘greater’ than any other nation ... ”)

I beg to differ. Compare the level of foreign aid America has distributed to the world in the last 60 years to any other nation. Compare the level of charitable giving in this country to the rest of the world. America is special because there are sufficient individuals here who work at being good, and those folks influence the course of this country.

Is America good while Russia is evil? Of course that sort of simple statement grossly distorts reality. But was the net impact of America under Franklin Delano Roosevelt good while Germany under Hitler and, later, the Soviet Union under Stalin produced evil? Of course. Neither was America perfectly good, nor these other nations perfectly evil, but on balance, taking the net impact of the nation on its own people and other peoples, the answer to that question is obvious. And if a person cannot admit that, well, I wonder who is really delusional?

Michael Trimble is a resident of Littleton.

READER COMMENTS

Excellent thought and writing by Mr. Trimble, and a refreshing contrast to the typically garbled Campos stuff. It seems Taylor 7 11 AM being not able to grasp the fact that America is unique and exceptional, shows he is standing to the left, whether he thinks it matters or not.

Posted by Gene on October 18, 2007 04:04 PM

Affirmative action got this 1960s "drug-brainfry" into law school and his job as a law school prof.

I call that very exceptional!

Posted by Hank on October 18, 2007 10:48 AM

If you think that America is funding other countries and providing aid NOT for our own benefit, you are kidding yourself.
I am an American. I am proud of what our country does (for the most part). I think our country is unique with its melting pot society. But I am also a realist. Our country helps out other countries because our politicians see it as a good move for potential allies. It is a strategic action to be sure. We are not doing it for the good of all people or anything like that. It has selfish motives and that is fine with me.
And why does everything have to be driven down to a person's "left" or "right" standing? It doesn't matter.

Posted by Taylor on October 18, 2007 07:11 AM