“So Un-American!”

(Minghui.org) The first time I heard the phrase “so un-American” was during the COVID pandemic. When the outbreak first started spreading from New York, panic-stricken governors in some neighboring states issued orders to stop cars from New York from entering their states. Andrew Cuomo, then governor of New York, was furious and publicly criticized the move as being “so un-American!”

One objective of the U.S. federal system is to allow free trade and the free flow of traffic between states, reducing barriers to economic development. If each state became independent kingdoms, would it still be the United States of America?

I have also heard the media using the term, “so un-American!” In President Trump’s first term, he proposed buying Greenland. He recently raised the proposal again and was mocked by the media, who said he was being un-American for two reasons. First, sovereign territory cannot be bought or sold. Second, The Danish government will not sell its land.

A historian wrote an article in the Washington Post in defense, citing that more than 40 percent of U.S. land was purchased. In 1803, the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. The U.S. later offered Spain debt relief in exchange for Florida. In 1867, it bought Alaska from Russia. The author concluded that Mr. Trump’s suggestion aligns with U.S. tradition.

Denmark does have a history of selling its land. In 1845, the Danish King accepted several million rupees from the East India Company in exchange for control of multiple trading hubs in India. In the early 1900s, Denmark offered to sell Greenland to the U.S., but the latter turned down the offer. However, in January 1917, it paid Denmark 25 million USD and bought another remote area that belonged to Denmark–the U.S. Virgin islands. In 1946, the U.S. formally offered $100 million USD to buy Greenland, but the Danish people refused.

What’s puzzling is that some reporters seem to have forgotten U.S. history or have not conducted adequate research before making claims. It makes me question their professionalism and ethics.

I met an American friend yesterday and heard the term “so un-American!” again.

My friend is a middle-aged Westerner who is a successful businessman. He loves to read. He told me, “I read several negative reports on Shen Yun in The New York Times recently. Every article was terribly written. After reading to the end of the article, I still didn’t know what they wanted to say. One article after another, in the end, they had nothing to write about, but wrote another article summarizing what was written previously.

“The article claimed Shen Yun made so much money. Don’t we Americans like stories about those who start from scratch, work hard and are successful?

“The article described how tough the training is and how long the performers train—which child who wants to succeed hasn’t had such experiences? Look at those kids who want to get into careers in sports. Their parents spend a lot of money sending them to summer camps and even move in order to find a good coach. The kids train in the scorching summer sun. Aren’t they all like that?

“The article questioned why Shen Yun has so much cash in the bank instead of investing it. When do we Americans put our noses in other people’s business? This is so un-American!”

I could not help myself and asked, “Then why do people still subscribe to their newspaper?”

He laughed and said, “That’s a good point! I’ll cancel my subscription when I get home!”

I laughed and thought to myself, “It turns out many Americans are still very American.”