Listen up, progressive America-haters and sympathetic overseas bystanders: by all means criticize what you think is wrong in the U.S.—but do not pretend that America is the root of all evil while ignoring that we saved the free world. Because without the United States, you wouldn’t be marching in anti-capitalism rallies—you’d be dragging your feet in goose-step or signing surrender documents in German.
Let’s call out the usual suspects: Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez (AOC), the ever-virulent anti-capitalist firebrand; Bernie Sanders, the lifelong socialist who rails against U.S. foreign policy; Chuck Schumer, Senate Democratic Leader who positions himself as big-tough progressive but couches U.S. exceptionalism in soft pablum; and the rest of “The Squad” who treat America like a villain in a foreign movie. These folks need to sharpen their historical memory.
Start with AOC. She rails against “capitalist exploitation,” “colonial legacies,” and “American imperialism.” She says things like: “We are one … don’t let them trick us into thinking we are enemies.” Fox News. But she fails to credit the one country in history that didn’t build empires—one country that dismantled them, rebuilt former foes, and gave freedom a fighting chance: the United States. Instead, she lauds foreign “movements,” foreign grievances, foreign bloc-thinking, while neglecting that America didn’t conquer the world—it liberated it.
Then you have Bernie Sanders. He frames himself as the working-class champion, the anti-war crusader, the enemy of oligarchs. But his foreign policy pieces quietly concede that U.S. interventions have often been disastrous. He writes: “For many decades… the results have often damaged the United States’ standing in the world, undermined the country’s professed values, and been disastrous for the American working class.” Senator Bernie Sanders, Fine. But where is the gratitude for the country that dismantled Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan—two regimes ravaging the world—and then spent decades defending freedom, not subjugating it?
And Schumer? Schumer regularly positions himself as the progressive standard-bearer in the Senate. And yet, as one critique bluntly put it: “Schumer is enabling an autocrat in real time.” Common Dreams. That’s rich coming from a leader who is part of the party that relies on U.S. strength and institutions the country built. Yet the left conveniently forgets that the institutions that preserved their “progressive” lifestyle were built on U.S. leadership. The press, the academia, the left-wing rallies—they occur because the U.S. created the space for them.
Now let’s talk basics: The United States did not carve up Africa or Asia in the 19th century. We didn’t exploit colonies. We told Europe to back off from the Western Hemisphere via the Monroe Doctrine. We intervened in two world wars not to seize territory, but to save civilization. Then we rebuild our enemies with the Marshall Plan and left them free. And today, you hear Marxist-lite activists saying America is the problem. Please.
When AOC says, “We don’t have time to sit on our hands as our planet burns,” Curious Earth, she is right about urgency. But she is wrong about blaming the country that preserved the free world order under which her protest tweets exist. When Bernie scolds the “wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq” as undermining U.S. values, Senator Bernie Sanders, fine. But where’s the simultaneous defense of the wars that did secure freedom from fascism?
This is not blind patriotism. This is common sense: you cannot build an argument that America is “the oppressor” when America also built the bulwark for freedom that others now enjoy. Yet the left chooses convenience: highlight U.S. missteps, ignore U.S. triumphs; highlight U.S. “imperialism,” ignore U.S. anti-imperialism.
Take the case of the left’s rhetorical obsession with “colonial legacies.” They accuse America of colonialism. However, consider this: America made it a condition of aid that the European colonial powers would unshackle their colonies to achieve self-determination. The post-WWII order was not built by France, Britain, or the Netherlands—it was rebuilt through the U.S. in the spirit of self-rule. And yet the left flings “colonizer” at America while giving Britain and France a free pass.
So, to the people in the media, on college campuses, shouting “America is evil,” I say this: Wake up. Without the U.S. you wouldn’t be living in a world where you can protest against America. You wouldn’t be in a country where you can demand “defund the police” or “cancel America first”. You’d be speaking German, you’d be under a red star, or you’d be fleeing yet another authoritarian regime. The irony is thick.
Let’s get tactical. When the left politician demands “free stuff” from government subsidies, massive wealth taxes, government-run childcare, universal everything, they are building on top of—and dependent upon—a U.S. economy that succeeded partly because of institutional stability, respect for property, rule of law, and military peace. The left criticizes the system, yet the system they criticize paid for their freedom. They’re chewing on their hands and fed them.
So, what’s the message? If you’re going to point a finger at America, don’t pick the only nation in history that defended universal freedom, rebuilt old foes, and handed self-governance back to the people. Pick one of the colonial empires that brutalized continents for centuries. Britain, France, Spain, Portugal—they earned the label “colonizer.” America helped liberate the world from its arrogance. But try telling that to the folks whose identity politics begins with America-bashing.
You either embrace the full historical story or you’re a hypocrite masquerading as a moral justice warrior. And to the Republicans who think this means worshipping every American decision uncritically — no. We should criticize the government when it errs. But there’s a difference between an honest critique and wholesale rejection. The left has crossed the line into wholesale rejection.
Let’s wrap this up: AOC, Bernie, Schumer, Mamdani, and their allies—if you hate America, fine. But show appreciation for what America did — or at least stop pretending the free world would’ve existed without it. Because if America had failed, we’d all be speaking German today. So shut the virtue signaling, open a history book, and show some perspective.
Jimmy Schwartz is a contributor to the Montgomery County Republican Club
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
About The Author
