Why America Should Hate Dan Flynn
Author of Why the Left Hates America Uses Insult, Insinuation to Berate Liberal Americans
By Melissa Mylchreest
THE SCOPE
The Right is at it again.
Accusatory, non-productive, and fairly ignorant criticism of the
Left, that is. This time their chosen spokesman is Dan Flynn, author of the
highly controversial and widely-read book Why the Left Hates America: Exposing
the Lies That Have Obscured Our Nation's Greatness, published in October 2002
and now in its third printing. A pity, really, that so many copies of it exist.
The book itself, 200 some-odd pages, is a no-holds-barred assault on the
American Left, and stops at nothing in its attempt to portray us all as
heathens. (I say "us" because I consider myself pretty far left of center, and
hope that a few fellow liberals read this.) The back-cover synopsis sums up
Flynn's interpretation of the Left fairly well: "This dismal, distorted view of
the greatest, freest nation in history comes from a Left who would rather
idolize Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro than honor George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson... [They are] anti-Americans [with a] rotting, vacuous core." Now, I
can't speak for every liberal in the nation, but it seems to me that we've got a
lot more love for this country and its tenants than the right - why else would
we be making such a fuss to fix it?
Flynn was kind enough to grace the Connecticut College campus with his presence
last Monday, November 17th, an event hugely anticipated by students of all
leanings and inclinations. Although sponsored by the school's dubious contingent
of College Republicans, they only comprised about 20% of the crowd, and spent
most of their time peering fearfully at the overwhelming opposition which turned
out in full force.
CCLEFT, the college's Leftist organization (a few weeks old, already 70 strong
and growing by leaps and bounds), showed up in shirts emblazoned with the phrase
"Ask me why the Left loves America," and dozens of other students came bearing
the slogans of their respective causes: gay rights, multi-culturalism, women's
rights, environmentalism, fair trade.
When Flynn finally began speaking, it was clear that he was up against an
exceedingly hostile room; the tension was nearly palpable. And yet, for all his
absurd views and despite his demeanor, Flynn is no ignoramus. It quickly became
clear that an audience of this disproportionate composition is exactly what he
wants, indeed, his whole shtick wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the
presence of a Leftist majority. Because Flynn, it turns out, doesn't have much
to say on his own. His entire speech was comprised of insults, jabs, and blatant
lies slung at the Left, designed expressly to get a rise out of the opposition.
And, when he pushed the line too far and managed to elicit some indignant
outburst from the crowd, he would say, "See? Look at the Left, how rude and
intolerant they are."
For what it's worth, he's very good at what he does, namely conducting
outlandish statements that are impossible to ignore. He understands the
psychology of those on the Left, and uses it to his advantage against them.
But, honestly, I would have had a lot more respect for him if he his
inflammatory tactics had been intelligent rather than underhanded and
juvenile. Examples? The various adjectives he used to describe those on the
Left, including loonies, crazies, fruit-loops, and whackos, who all happen to be
degenerate, incoherent, uneducated, suffering from Tourette's, and in need of
group therapy. Try taking a look in the mirror, buddy.
And, of course, the topics he discussed were clearly chosen to outrage the
audience. His main target of criticism happened to be -get this - college
professors, and he embarked on a lengthy tirade not only about how
overwhelmingly liberal views are distorting history and corrupting the nation's
youth, but also how he thinks this recent call for diversity on college campuses
is a bunch of bull.
A few other gems of the evening: His theory that when analyzing
our country we should really compare it to third world nations and appreciate
how much better off we are than them, rather than holding our nation up to
ideals, because really, aren't American ideals a little ridiculous? Being so
lofty and Utopian, we'll never manage to live up to them, so why bother trying?
Thanks, Mr. Flynn, we'll just take the Constitution and toss it right out the
window.
Or how about his unbelievable views on Feminism - in response to a question
about why women are making seventy-four cents to the dollar, he replied that the
idea of equal pay is ridiculous; the only way to establish equal wage would be
to abolish pregnancy, and "We'll leave that up to the Left, since we all know
they hate children. Look at their views on abortion." Add to that his snide
comments about the Black Panthers, the British, China, Haitians, Judaism, Noam
Chomsky, and other "intellectual morons," and you've got yourself a real winner.
If you happen to be a Leftist who wants to get roaringly angry, read his book,
or better yet, track him down and experience his performance for yourself. If
nothing more, it's educational; there's nothing better than meeting the enemy
first hand to know what you're up against.