The answer lies in that these people operate from a false premise. Recall in one of my earlier columns that one of the key differences between liberals and conservatives is that while the latter seek pragmatic solutions that have proven to work, the former continue to cling to their policies, no matter how many times they have failed. Idealism animates the left, whereas pragmatism guides the right. That hints at the core of why the left always blames (read: hates) America first.

   This is the greatest country that humanity has ever known. It is the greatest country in reality. But those of us who live in reality and not in La-la Land (read: San Francisco, Manhattan, west side of LA, Seattle, etc.) know that people create countries, and people are not perfect. The left, however, continue to ignore all the inconvenient truths that people are not perfect, and continue to cling to the fantasy that mankind is somehow perfectible. Indeed, not only do they believe in such perfectibility, they expect it, hence the aforementioned false premise.

   The concept of “Utopia” is a perfect society based on reason. Notice that p-word again. But given man’s inherent fallibility, Utopia has never been possible at any time in recorded or pre-recorded history. Depending on one’s theology, it might very well be possible in the next life, but that is another matter entirely. We Christians learn early on that we will always fall short of the ideals we cling to, but there are built-in mechanisms for forgiveness for our failings through repentance, etc. The bottom line is, we understand that falling short of preached ideals is an inevitability, and we deal with them as these shortcomings arise.

   The problem with the left, however, is that when something is shown to be not perfect when they expect it to be, it is deserving of unmerciful condemnation. Simply put, the left compares America to something that is unattainable – Utopia. But because Utopia is not possible – contrary to what those on the left believe – America, in the left’s eyes, will always fall short. More practical individuals – conservatives – would quickly realize that that comparison is unreasonable, and would adjust our frame of reference accordingly (we already have!). But the left cannot give up on their Utopian fantasies, and as such, America will never measure up to their unreasonable expectations, hence, once again, the left’s propensity to blame America first.

   The biggest irony in this false premise of the left is that America’s ideals have led to this nation solving its own shortcomings. For example, the left loves to browbeat America for slavery and segregation. But those practices did not mesh with the ideals surrounding the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution had the mechanisms that allowed for us to, over time, rid ourselves of these problems democratically. As previously mentioned, Christians believe in forgiveness and redemption; again, what is implicit in those beliefs is the acknowledgement that shortcomings are inevitable by virtue of being human.

   But acknowledging that premise presupposes that one is grounded in a faith of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Those who tend to shun that sort of faith also tend to worship man instead, hence the idea of mankind’s perfectibility as opposed to the right’s faith in a perfect Creator. While those on the right readily acknowledge that God has blessed America, many on the left act as if the land were never blessed to begin with.