Dinesh D'Souza

Dinesh D'Souza wrote a book called What's So Great About America? in which he defends the U.S. against lots of different verbal attacks. He said that people in the U.S. weren't grateful enough and criticized too many things when they should be happy for living here. He then claimed that the United States and our culture was superior to much of the world, saying: If one begins with the multicultural premise that all cultures are equal, then the world as it is makes very little sense," he says. "Some cultures have completely outperformed others in providing the things that all people seek -- health, food, housing, security and the amenities of life." I disagree with some of what he is saying here, but I think that Dinesh made a valid point when he said that we should be happy to live in the United States because we could be living in a place with no clean water or a place that is being destroyed by genocide. However, I disagree with his statement that all cultures are not equal. Cultures do not provide homes, food, or anything else he named - they provide STYLES of food and houses, and provide history and something of an identity for people. Cultures cannot possibly outperform one another because cultures cannot "perform" anything. Sure, some governments may be better than others at caring for its people, but all cultures, however different they may be, are no better or worse than any other culture.