America the beautiful, America the powerful, America the brave, America the generous, and America the free... These self proclaimed, mirror, mirror on the wall assertions of the country’s exceptional pedigree nestles in the minds of school children to Senators, nuzzles in the thoughts of priests to Presidents, and curls up in the ruminations of teachers to talk show hosts -- it is inexorable and omnipresent. Ask any American who has a thought to express or an opinion to venture and he or she will tell you: America is outstandingly great and splendidly bountiful. This auto hallowing, only possible if accompanied by a mighty ignorance of the prevailing historical record, denies a stark litany of theft, deceit, oppression, crime, murder and massacres. If the national narrative is a sacrosanct one-sided wall, read about the other side in this neat, precise, and uncompromising set of essays.

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