The 10 Big Lies About America - Michael Medved

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Lies-About-America-Destructive/dp/0307394069 “It ain’t so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble,nineteenth-century humorist Josh Billings remarked. “It’s the things we know that just ain’t so.” In this bold and brilliantly argued book, acclaimed author and talk-radio host Michael Medved zeroes in on ten of the biggest fallacies that millions of Americans believe about our country—in spite of incontrovertible facts to the contrary. In The 10 Big Lies About America, Medved pinpoints the most pernicious pieces of America-bashing disinformation that pollute current debates about the economy, race, religion in politics, the Iraq war, and other contentious issues. The myths that Medved deftly debunks include: Myth: The United States is uniquely guilty for the crime of slavery and based its wealth on stolen African labor. Fact: The colonies that became the United States accounted for, at most, 3 percent of the abominable international slave trade; the persistence of slavery in America slowed economic progress; and the U.S. deserves unique credit for ending slavery. Myth: The alarming rise of big business hurts the United States and oppresses its people. Fact: Corporations played an indispensable role in building America, and corporate growth has brought progress that benefits all with cheaper goods and better jobs. Myth: The Founders intended a secular, not Christian, nation. Fact: Even after ratifying the Constitution, fully half the state governments endorsed specific Chris­tian denominations. And just a day after approving the First Amendment, forbidding the establishment of religion, Congress called for a national “day of public thanksgiving and prayer” to acknowledge “the many signal favors of Almighty God.” Myth: A war on the middle class means less comfort and opportunity for the average American. Fact: Familiar campaign rhetoric about the victimized middle class ignores the overwhelming statistical evidence that the standard of living keeps rising for every segment of the population, as well as the real-life experience of tens of millions of middle-class Americans. Each of the ten lies—widely believed among elites and taught as truth in universities and public schools—is a grotesque, propagandistic distortion of the historical record. For everyone who is tired of hearing America denigrated by people who don’t know what they’re talking about, The 10 Big Lies About America supplies the ammunition necessary to fire back the next time somebody tries to recycle these baseless beliefs. Medved’s witty, well-documented rebuttal is a refreshing reminder that as Americans we should feel blessed, not burdened, by our heritage.

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asands1 (2009-01-21)

whats so bold and brilliant about this? its just rhetoric we've heard over and over. and plus its not backed up by fact, only opnions

spankbot (2009-01-21)

Actually, the book is extremely well sourced and argued. You should probably give it a listen (or read).

ckhopper (2009-01-26)

The heyday for this kind of straw-man, all-or-nothing rhetoric is now over. It was fun while it lasted, now we gotta clean up the huge mess. There was nothing wrong with my university education, but I pity what's become of it (and the rest of the FL educational system) after 2 terms under Jeb. I'll pass, thanks.

spankbot (2009-01-28)

With Obama welcoming in the nanny-state, it's important that we learn more about how American was founded. "Government isn't the answer to the problem, government IS the problem." - Ronald Reagan

Crmine (2009-01-29)

This book is rife with logical fallacies. Also, it ranks pretty high on the RWA-scale.

spankbot (2009-01-30)

@Crmine: Name one.

SukMiWang (2009-02-01)

I regularly listen to Medved's radio show. No one does it like him. he always takes more calls from those that disagree than those that don't. He even sets aside an entire day every week called "Disagreement Day" where he only takes calls from the opposition. AND HE ALWAYS WINS!!! Always comes with the most facts, the most statistics, the most evidence, and the most understanding on the topics he tackles. This book is VERY well sourced. I challenge any liberal minded person to take even the 1st chapter and TRY to find cited/sourced evidence to the contrary. This book is bullet-proof. 3 cheers for Medved for educating me and helping to save me from my liberal ways. Thanks to the uploader as well. As for Pres. Obama, may God bless him and keep him from messing up our economy any more until we can get a REAL fiscal conservative in office. Amen.

SukMiWang (2009-02-01)

I finished downloading but when i try to decompress, it fails. Winzip says there's nothing to extract and 7zip say that it's invalid or corrupted! Yet the file is still 540Mb. What gives?

dp812 (2009-02-22)

In the description, the statement about the Founding Fathers and religion is a fallacy. Saying the Founding Fathers wanted a secular nation is misleading because it implies that the Founding Fathers were against religion -- they weren't. They were fine with religion, so long as it was kept out of matters of state. Thomas Jefferson (you know, the guy who WROTE many of these documents) was staunchly anti-Christian and had very little to say in support of the Christian religion. The primary architects of the Constitution were not Christians but Deists. This is a well-sourced, well-documented fact that Medved and other idiots like him continue to ignore because they want a theocracy.

spankbot (2009-03-19)

Jefferson was a deist, but was not "anti-christian". Where do you kids get your goofy info from?

f8te (2009-04-25)

Assands1, read the book (or have a listen) and you will realize that it is actually an extremely logical REFUTATION of fallacious rhetoric repeated so often it has become mythology. And had you actually read the book you would know that Medved consistently makes his case with facts and footnotes his sources.

Snuzz.Net (2009-08-10)

Spankbot - "I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature." & "Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies." Not to mention "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man."
He sounds pretty anti-Christian to me. dp812 is in the right.