Anti-Climacus

QUOTE: Jay Nordinger, thusly:

"The other night, I was reading the Bible and The Paul Johnson Reader. Sometimes I confuse the two.

I thought you might be interested in hearing what Johnson had to say, years ago, about America and anti-Americanism in light of recent goings-on:

'In the 1770s, surveying the immensity and diversity of London, Dr. Samuel Johnson laid down: 'Sir, a man who is tired of London is tired of life.' The saying could be rephrased today. A man who hates America hates humanity.

Anti-Americanism is ubiquitous, a direct consequence of America doing her duty, the resentment of followers, not leaders. To be sure, anti-Americanism is an ignoble and irrational emotion. Like anti-Semitism, which in some ways it has replaced, it is impervious to facts or logic.

The attacks on America during the 1970s were so venomous and for the most part so irrational as to merit the description of an international witch-hunt. One might say that the most ubiquitous form of racism during this decade was anti-Americanism. The adage 'to know all is to forgive all' does not work in international affairs. One reason why America was attacked so much was because so much was known about her, chiefly thanks to the American media and academia, which poured forth a ceaseless torrent of self-critical material. But a more fundamental reason was that America as a great power, and still more Americanism as a concept, stood for the principle of individualism as opposed to collectivism, for free will as opposed to determinism.'"