Prager's Circular Reasoning about "The Left"

One of the scare words that many conservatives use to avoid having to make substantive arguments is “The left”. It is rarely defined objectively, but is simply hurled about willy nilly at all those who oppose the speaker’s views. It is used to dismiss arguments rather than refute them, and in some cases, used in a circular manner to avoid the real issues involved. Dennis Prager’s latest screed is a perfect example of this.

Prager attempts to dispel the notion that the world hates America:
”One of the most widely held beliefs in the contemporary world -- so widely held it is not disputed -- is that, with few exceptions, the world hates America. One of the Democrats' major accusations against the Bush administration is that it has increased hatred of America to unprecedented levels. And in many polls, the United States is held to be among the greatest obstacles to world peace and harmony.

But it is not true that the world hates America. It is the world's left that hates America. However, because the left dominates the world's news media and because most people, understandably, believe what the news media report, many people, including Americans, believe that the world hates America. “

Well no shit Dennis. Why would “the right” hate America? The Right, led by Rightist in Chief George Bush, rule America. What we (who use the term honestly) call “left” in America is considered right of center by most of the rest of the world. The “world’s left” hates America because that IS the world, at least the part whose respect we desire.

And why would that be? Simple. By the myopia through which the Pragers of the world see the world, all who are not right are left. And what defines right these days?

Resistance to abortion because of religious views of life.

Support of supply-side economics in defiance of all evidence.

Resistance to good science education including evolution.

Denial of anthropocentric global warming.

The insistence that Saddam Hussein was in league with Osama Bin Laden and had weapons of mass destruction.

There are many more examples, but those will suffice. In other words Dennis, the world appears leftist to you because here in the states, The Right is defined by those who support positions which bely reality. The rest of the world is left because they do a much better (though granted still woefully inadequate) job of recognizing reality, and we in America, particularly the right (and too the left) have a problem with this.
Prager’s only other argument is pathetically illogical:

”There is another obvious argument against the belief that the world hates America: Many millions of people would rather live in America than in any other country. How does the left explain this? Why would people want to come to a country they loathe? Why don't people want to live in Sweden or France as much as they wish to live in America? Those are rich and free countries, too.

For the same reason everyone hates Terrell Owens or Randy Moss when they play for another team, but loves them when they play for their team. Or to put it another way, is it really hard to understand why a kid beaten up by the bully’s gang might want to be a member of that gang? Is it REALLY difficult to understand why an Iraqi who hates America for destroying his country might see America as a good place to live? I guess that’s just another reality that is entirely too complicated for Prager and the Right to see.