A Pathetic Little Man

       I recently read a statement from Dinesh D’Souza criticizing one of Michelle Obama’s comments.  Mrs. Obama was in a televised discussion with Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie when she claimed that some of the most powerful people in the world are 'not as smart' as they seem. Below is the section of the dialogue to which I am referring:

“I have worked at nonprofits, I have been at foundations, I have worked in corporations, served on corporate boards, I have been at G-summits, I have sat in at the UN. They are not that smart.'

       The comment came as Mrs. Obama, speaking to a sold-out crowd of 2,000 people, admitted she still had 'a little [bit of] impostor syndrome'. 'It never goes away, that you're actually listening to me,' she said. 'It never goes away, that feeling that you shouldn't take me that seriously. What do I know?' 'I share that with you because we all have doubts in our abilities, about our power and what power is.'" 

       This might seem harmless in and of itself.  In fact, anyone who lived through the Bush 43 years might further add that, “Many of the world’s most powerful people aren’t even as smart as they’re supposed to be or should be to hold such positions of influence.” Almost immediately, convicted campaign fraud cheat and beneficiary of a Trump pardon, Dinesh D’Souza, opined: “Anyone who has read Michelle's college thesis - a document so illiterate and incoherent that it was written, as Christopher Hitchens put it, in "no known language" - will chuckle heartily at this one.”

       Off the top: I’ve read the thesis in question, and while I admired Hitchens’ attitudes related to religion and its intrusion into government, I find these characterizations more than a little skewed. Hitchens was a strong critic of The Obama administration until his death in 2011, and his comments re: Michelle Obama’s thesis, written at Princeton are, let’s just say grossly overblown, uncharitable and inaccurate.

        The document in question is about what one would expect as an undergraduate effort considering the topic, which was an attempt to quantify difficulties faced by Black students at predominately White upper tier colleges. Is it great literature? Nope. Is it “unintelligible”? Absolutely not. If one answers that with a yes, then the critic’s own education must be questioned. Of course, Mr. D’Souza has his reasons, which while not stated by him are easy to fathom. He has been, since college, where his entire educational career consisted of obtaining a BA in English, a critic of all things Democratic Party, and a vehement Trump supporter.

        Now, here’s my thesis: if you support and defend a person who, while spouting almost daily streams of self-aggrandizing commentary on his own “genius”, “high intelligence,” “great brain” etc., ad nauseum, yet whose “tweets” reveal almost a fourth-grade command of the language, perhaps you’re not really suited for literary criticism.

        So, just who is Dinesh D’Souza, and why should his opinion count? D’Souza is an Indian born, former Catholic, convert to fundamentalist Christianity. How fundamentalist? His second marriage (to a woman he became engaged to while still married to his first wife of 20 years!) was officiated by Ted Cruz’s semi psychotic father! He (D’Souza) is a naturalized citizen who jumped on the conservative bandwagon at about the same time as Ann Coulter. He exhibits roughly the same degree of honesty and objectivity as well. He has made a reputation for himself largely by semi-slanderous books and motion pictures with one constant conservative message, that being his belief that the US is anti-religion, Slavery wasn’t so bad, Democrats are the “real” fascists, and every single Democratic politician is the anti-Christ. He professes belief in “intelligent design,” the fraudulent nature of global warming claims, and the litany goes on and on.

        His books and films resonate with the Far-Right fringe who espouse the same conspiracy theories as D’Souza himself. In 1995, his first book, oddly titled The End of Racism, was published. A sentient individual with critical thinking skills and two functioning eyes, on reading this should have immediately vowed to erase D’Souza’s name from their memory. Critics, liberal and conservative, panned it. Quotes from the book include this gem: "The American slave was treated like property, which is to say, pretty well." (not all that surprising, considering D’Souza’s birth and upbringing in an upper-class Indian family in a caste ridden society. D’Souza has even been an apologist for colonialism in general. Critical response to the book included one reviewer for The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education who responded by posting a list of sixteen recent racist incidents against black people. Michael Bérubé, in a lengthy review article, referred to the book as "encyclopedic pseudoscience", calling it illogical and saying some of the book's policy recommendations are fascist; it is "so egregious an affront to human decency as to set a new and sorry standard for 'intellectual'". Another noted that the book is "like a parody of scholarship, where selected 'facts' are pulled out of any recognizable context and used to support a particular viewpoint". (ed. note, Trump may have latched onto this tactic, that is if he had ever taken time to read a book, including those ghost-written for him.)

        Other D'Souza books have been well received by the lowest stratum of Far Rightists, while many other “true” conservatives have scrambled to distance themselves from him. A conservative reviewer said, of another opus, "The worst nonfiction book about terrorism published by a major house since 9/11" and "a national disgrace.” In “The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left," Conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat criticized the book, saying it was a "plea-for-attention" by D'Souza, and that the author had "become a hack". Douthat further stated, "Because D'Souza has become a professional deceiver, what he adds are extraordinary elisions, sweeping calumnies and laughable leaps." Daniel Larson, writing in The American Conservative, said: "Dinesh D'Souza has authored what may possibly be the most ridiculous piece of Obama analysis yet written ... All in all, D'Souza's article reads like a bad conspiracy theory.”

        His movies have fared little better among reviewers other than the Trump sycophant base. Peter Sobczynski wrote, “‘Hillary's America’ may well be the single dumbest documentary that I have ever seen in my life.” A July 2016 review in Variety characterized D'Souza as "a right-wing conspiracy wingnut, the kind of "thinker" who takes off from Barack Obama birther theories and just keeps going, spinning out a web of comic-book liberal evil.”

        In February 2018, D'Souza was widely criticized for a series of tweets which mocked the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.  There is little conceivable justification for his comments in response to a photo of survivors reacting to Florida lawmakers voting down a proposed ban on assault weapons in the aftermath of the shooting. D'Souza tweeted "worst news since their parents told them to get summer jobs".  D'Souza's comments were condemned by both liberal and conservative commentators. Jonathan M. Katz wrote, "Let it never be said that Dinesh does not actively root for the death of children." Others accused D'Souza of "trolling kids". D'Souza was also denounced by Conservative Political Action Conference, which removed him from the roster of speakers, and called his comments "indefensible".

        In August 2010, apparently in gratitude for his vigorous defense of Evangelical Christianity, D'Souza was named president of The King's College, a Christian liberal arts college then housed in the Empire State Building in Manhattan. Mind you, his credentials consist of a bachelor’s degree in English. Period. Never heard of The King’s College? You’re not alone. This “institution,” formerly housed entirely in the Empire State building as mentioned above is ranked in the lowest ¼ of US liberal arts colleges. Despite its relatively poor ranking, a year at Kings will cost you $53,290, just slightly less than Harvard, unless you can live in a broom closet and eat pigeons.  On October 18, 2012, D'Souza resigned his post at The King's College following the revelation that he—despite being married—had shared a hotel room at a Christian conference with another woman and introduced her to others as his fiancée.

        So… in his private life, D’Souza has been equally reprehensible, openly parading his fiancée while yet married, physically abusing his first wife and forging her name to illegal documents donating to another woman candidate he was sleeping with (at the time). This was prior to the “fiancée.”   

       Summarizing, one asks, “Why would this little man decide to belittle Michelle Obama?” That’s simple. He, a prideful man, has a simple BA, while she has a Juris Doctorate. Moreover, Dinesh D’Souza, in a writing career spanning more than 25 years has not, and never will, achieve anything close to the success of Mrs. Obama’s first book, her sole effort to date. 
      
       “Becoming,” in less than five weeks since its publishing, has sold more than 3 million copies and the count isn’t slowing! The book is entirely her own writing. In this short time, “Becoming” has already hugely out-sold “The Art of The Deal” a Trump (largely ghost written) effort which has been available for 31 years! It’s almost too delicious for words – Trump and D’Souza almost invisible in the shade of an accomplished, warm and personable woman of character, ability and who,much to their anguish, I’m sure, won’t even mention either one of them.  

        If this sounds as if I hold Michelle Obama in unconditionally high regard, it’s simply because I do.