As I browsed Twitter this morning I came across a video by Bill Maher speaking about America. Given Maher’s history, I assumed it must have been some sort of America-bashing rant. But then I noticed who shared the Tweet. It was Ted Cruz, and he included this remark:
“Remarkable sign of the times: Died-in-the-wool-Liberal @billmaher is consistently one of the few voices of sanity on air. I disagree with him on a LOT of issues, but he doesn’t hate America…and he calls out those who say they do.”
Here’s the clip he’s talking about and, as usual with Bill Maher, LANGUAGE WARNING:
What’s the lesson of Afghanistan? Maybe it’s that everyone from the giant dorm room bitch session that is the internet should take a good look at what real oppression looks like. #Wokeistan #WakeUpCall pic.twitter.com/HoNJkucheF
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) August 28, 2021
Maher draws a different lesson from Afghanistan in this clip than you might assume. He brings up a personal story about how the Taliban took an Afghan comic into a car, tortured, and executed him.
I watched the entire video, and while it’s not easy to watch as Maher takes jabs at Republicans along the road to his larger argument, he does go on to bash the woke set for their continual hate-America rhetoric. He contrasts injustice and poverty across the world with the freedoms and wealth we have in the United States. He sees America through the eyes of an Afghan immigrant, who would scoff at the idea that the United States is a nasty, racist society. That Afghan refugee, he claims, would show that enlightened America-hater what actual persecution and hatred looks like.
Maher reaches the same conclusion that many of us have for years, informing his audience that there’s a reason why Afghan migrants at Kabul’s airport are passing their children over the fence to American forces. It’s the same point we make every time we say that individuals from all over the world are rushing to enter this country. Because, despite its faults, America remains the world’s beacon of freedom and liberty, and that is something to be loved and admired rather than loathed.
