Michael Medved is a Mensch

Mensch (or mensh): A person having admirable characteristics, such as fortitude and firmness of purpose, a particularly good person, like a stand-up guy, a person with the qualities one would hope for in a dear friend or trusted colleague.

Ken Sax and I attended Michael's talk last night at the Beach Cities Chabad in Redondo Beach. Mike's presentation was a serious one about a deadly dangerous problem: anti-Americanism. He sees it as related to but even more dangerous than anti-Semitism, and the talk explored six common characteristics of both pathologies.

1. Ubiquity: Anti-Americanism is everywhere, astoundingly so in countries that owe us the most such as France and the Phillipines, just like anti-Semitism is rampant in France, where Jews are loyal citizens, and Japan, where there are few Jews.

2. Irrational: America is the cause of every evil, AIDS in Africa, the tsunami in the South Pacific, environmental damage in China, just like the Jews were blamed for the bubonic plague.

3. Envious: Hatred of America is based on envy of our success and on the assumption that prosperity is a zero-sum-game. Somehow, US prosperity produces 3rd world poverty, when it is actually just the opposite. Remember that the Jews were faulted for being the bankers of Europe, when in fact most Jews were desperately poor. Mike's own grandparents lost several children to starvation and sickness.

4. Power: Those who hate us assume we are all powerful, and that we use that power for evil purposes. They deny that America has done massive good for the world.

5. Anti-Virtue: The America-haters object to our virtues, our religiousity and our patriotism. This is also true of leftists in America.

6. No Escape: Like Hitler targeted all the Jews, Bin Laden and Zarqawi target all Americans, not just soldiers, not just adults, not just Republicans.

This should bring Americans together, but the American left refuse to support America, as in the Vietnam War. In his book Unholy Alliance, David Horowitz explained that the Islamo-fascists and the American left have only one thing in common: hatred of America.

So what are we to do? Mike says we must fight this evil with force in the war and spirituality at home. Let us begin with unwavering support of our brave military and gratitude for all we have in America. Happy Thanksgiving!

After the talk, Michael signed my copy of his book Right Turns: "To Palos Verdes Bill, with best wishes for the continued growth of your blog!" Michael Medved.

Medved's a mensch all right.