by Eric E. Anschutz, March, 2007
The war in Iraq is impossible to ignore for long. I have from the beginning been completely against it, and as one who loves our America, I am aghast at the war’s needlessness, and at its terrible consequences in deaths and wasted resources.
Those of us against the war are often accused of not recognizing and appreciating all that is good about our country. So, let us consider what is good (even fabulous!) about America. Putting aside any specious claim to exceptionalism, America is, without doubt, exceptional. Sprawling from the Atlantic to the Pacific, rich in natural resources, endowed coast to coast with endless acres of fertile land, favorable climate, dynamic, creative and productive industries, our America has for two centuries been a magnet for the needy, the adventurous and courageous from every part of the world. The resulting diversity of our citizenry has given this nation a multicultural and richly colorful heritage that links our people to those of every other nation and culture on earth; yet, this unparalleled diversity has become integrated and blended to bring about a remarkable tolerance for differences among us, and a collective pride we share in things American.
Even in the turmoil and widespread anti-Americanism of today, our television programs and our movies continue to appeal to audiences across the world. Microsoft and Apple and Google and Yahoo support and spur technology across the globe; Levi blue jeans and New York Yankee baseball caps are worn everywhere; and McDonald’s and Starbucks and Coke machines are as familiar and as ubiquitous in Europe and Asia and Africa as they are in California and Michigan and Alabama. Our affluence and our influence and our superpower status are in a sense so overwhelming that some are tempted, wrongly, to believe that “when we act, we create our own reality.â€
But this glorious vision of “America the Beautiful†is dimming. The worldwide appeal of our wealth, our freedoms and our products and services competes today with massive and worldwide demonstrations against the war in Iraq, our militant policies, and our (wrongly) perceived anti-Islamism. And our missiles and aircraft carriers have proven to be of little value in combating the insurgency and civil war and terrorism that beset us in the streets of Baghdad.