Misplaced blame unnecessary

Jack Handey, the Saturday Night Live well of wisdom, once said, "If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is 'God is crying.' And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is 'Probably because of something you did.'"\nWe laugh because of the ridiculousness of that statement. But when Rev. Jerry Falwell lashed out at left-wing groups recently and said they caused the September Massacre by bringing on God's wrath, Handey's joke lost some of its humor.\nIn times of crisis, when most of America comes together, it's extremists like Falwell that stick out like a sore thumb. On big public universities -- and especially in European countries -- you hear the same thing coming from the left, only foreign policy is the justification, not God. Ralph Nader suggested that we "put ourselves in the shoes" of the people in Third World countries and "ask why they dislike our country's foreign policies."\nIt seems the secular left- and right-wing religious extremists like Jerry Falwell differ little in terms of their analysis: Both believe America is paying for its sins; they merely differ as to what those sins are. (Unlike Falwell, the left has yet to apologize for its analysis.)\nAre we really that bad? You get that impression from some of the ideologues that those 6,000 people deserved to die. At a rally in Washington over the weekend, anti-American protesters burned U.S. flags and yelled, "America mass murders every single day." Something tells me they weren't talking about abortion.\nThe world -- especially extremist Americans -- must come to grips with some facts. We are a free society and a free nation which has been, and continues to be with a few other allies, the greatest force for good in the world in decades -- even after you count our considerable mistakes and shortcomings. Through our ideas, enterprise, and generosity we have done about as much for other nations and peoples than any other country in human history. To refute this is not a sign of sophistication; it is a sign of ignorance.\nFrom my discussions with these simple-minded ideologues, they automatically conclude that America must be wrong in any and every situation. America has become the scapegoat of choice for half of the world. Sometimes they genuinely believe America is evil. Other times, they just like making counter-intuitive points in order to feel like abstract intellectuals.\nBoth camps point their targets at our foreign policy abroad. They would have us abandon one of the few democracies in the Middle East -- Israel. They would have us ignore totalitarian regimes invading peaceful neighbors -- Kuwait and Bosnia. Indeed, had their numbers been larger before WWII, they would have allowed Adolph Hitler's march across Europe. We intervened there for good reason, and we should continue to defend freedom, democracy, and provide foreign aid.\nHealthy skepticism of the actions of our government is a good thing. But rampant anti-Americanism, just for the sake of being such, gets us nowhere.\nI reject all of the Jerry Falwells, Ralph Naders, and flag burners everywhere who blame the September Massacre on America. Focus on the true "mass murderers" and terrorists behind the attacks and only then will you really help the world become a more peaceful place.