America the Beautiful: What We're Fighting For By: Dinesh D'Souza

I really enjoyed reading this article. The way Dinesh D’souza wrote this article made me proud to be an American. I feel he brings out a lot of good points relating to the diversity of the American way of life. I feel he brings out a good reason for the strong opposition the fundamentalist Islamic people have for the United States. I never realized the Islamic fundamentalists felt threatened by the free democratic lifestyle of the United States.
I enjoyed the way Dinesh talks about virtues. I agree with him and his view on choosing to live a life of virtue verses being forced to live a life of virtue. People by nature don’t like being forced to live a lifestyle they don’t agree with. It is no wonder the Islamic fundamentalists feel threatened by the lifestyle of the United States.
I don’t necessarily agree with policies that try and force the American way of life on others. While I think it is the greatest lifestyle even with its faults, I don’t think it is a one size fits all type of thing. When the United States is threatened by extremists because they don’t like the fact their people are moving here to live a life of their choosing, then it is a time for action.
I don’t know that the United States has ever tried to push their beliefs outright on any nation. I know people make this claim when the subject of the current war in Iraq is mentioned. As far as I have seen, the United States freed the people of Iraq from a man who gloried only in himself and wouldn’t think twice about killing thousands of people just because he didn’t like something about them. The Iraqi people have been allowed to set up their own government, establish their own laws, and elect their own leaders. Yes there are those who strongly disagree with this, but based on the information in this essay, it is because they are losing the power they once held over the people.
One statement in this essay really holds true for me “When Americans rally behind a good cause, as in World War II, they are invincible.” The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are a gleaming example of this. This event is one of the strongest examples of American pride. The incident caused concern and fear for many, but it also solidified the country behind a cause. People from all walks of life, from different social classes, and different religious backgrounds joined together to fight a common foe—terrorism. This has been the case from the birth of this country, and I think it will be the case for centuries to come. We may all have our different political, social, religious, and social views, but all in all, I think we all share a common threat—we are Americans, we love our freedoms, and we will fight to the death to preserve them.