Dinesh D'Souza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dinesh D'Souza

Born April 25, 1961 (1961-04-25) (age 47)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Residence Fairbanks Ranch, California
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Education Dartmouth College
Occupation Political Writer
Known for Political Commentary
Political party Republican
Religious beliefs Roman Catholic
Spouse Dixie Brubaker
Children Danielle
Website
http://www.dineshdsouza.com

Dinesh D'Souza (born April 25, 1961 in Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India) is an author and public speaker who once served as the Robert and Karen Rishwain Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.[1]

D'Souza is the author of numerous New York Times best selling books and a conservative writer and speaker. D'Souza is well known for being a devout Roman Catholic.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

D'Souza was born in Mumbai, India to parents from the state of Goa in Western India. He arrived in the United States in 1978, originally through a Rotary International program, attending Patagonia Union High School in Patagonia, Arizona, and then Dartmouth College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English in 1983.[3][4]

In 1981, D'Souza published the names of officers of the Gay Student Alliance in an article for The Dartmouth Review, including the names of those who were still closeted.[5]

While at Dartmouth, D'Souza became the editor of a conservative monthly called The Prospect. The paper and its writers ignited much controversy during D'Souza's editorship. The school's vice president of public affairs at the time alleged that the paper had become "outwardly destructive and irresponsible." The paper also criticized the university's minority admission policies.[6]

[edit] Washington, D.C.

After his time in Dartmouth, D'Souza moved to Washington, D.C., where he served for two years as an editor of Policy Review, an influential conservative journal now published by the Hoover Institution. In "The Bishops as Pawns", D'Souza theorized that U.S. Catholic bishops were being manipulated by American liberals in agreeing to oppose the U.S. military buildup and use of power abroad and actually knew very little about these subjects to which they were lending their religious credibility, writing:

Interviews with these bishops suggest that they know little or nothing about the ideas and proposals to which they are putting their signature and lending their religious authority. The bishops are unfamiliar with existing defense and economic programs, unable to identify even in general terms the Soviet military capability, ignorant of roughly how much of the budget currently goes to defense, unclear about how much should be reallocated to social programs, and innocent of the most basic concepts underlying the intelligent layman's discussion of these questions.[7]

In 1987 D'Souza left the magazine to serve as a policy advisor in Ronald Reagan's White House until 1988. He then joined the American Enterprise Institute, where he was the institute's John M. Olin fellow, before later joining the Hoover Institution.[citation needed]

[edit] Personal life

In 1992, D'Souza married Dixie Brubaker, whom he first met during his time in Washington, D.C. They have one daughter, Danielle, and reside in Fairbanks Ranch, California.

Prior to his marriage in 1992, D'Souza had relationships with two well-known female conservatives, Laura Ingraham, a nationally-syndicated radio commentator to whom he was engaged but never married, and best-selling conservative author and commentator Ann Coulter.[8]

During his career, D'Souza picked up the nickname "Distort D'Newza" from his more vocal critics. Although not flattering, he actually finds the nickname amusing. "I think I'm the one who thought of it," he told Spy magazine in 1989. "I can't remember the exact origins of Distort D'Newza, but I was very proud of it when it came out."[9]

[edit] Ideology

[edit] Human nature

D'Souza is a noted conservative, and defines conservatism in the American sense as "conserving the principles of the American Revolution".[citation needed] In Letters to a Young Conservative, written as an introduction to conservative ideas for youth, D'Souza argues that it is a blend of classical liberalism and ancient virtue, in particular, "the belief that there are moral standards in the universe and that living up to them is the best way to have a full and happy life." He also argues against what he calls the modern liberal belief that "human nature is intrinsically good," and thus that "the great conflicts in the world…arise out of terrible misunderstandings that can be corrected through ongoing conversation and through the mediation of the United Nations."[citation needed]

[edit] Social policy and affirmative action

D'Souza challenges beliefs and projects such as affirmative action, and social welfare. In the book Illiberal Education, D'Souza argued that intolerance of conservative views is common at many universities.

D'Souza has often stated his belief that idealizing the rebellion against slavery is a source of disability among some African Americans. He speculates that slaves, to preserve a sense of dignity, in the circumstances of slavery, would by nature tend to be defiant. This defiance would become the central heroic reference for African-American slaves, restoring a degree of pride and dignity to all. But, he continues, the price of this would be the habitually ingrained attitude of defiance that is ultimately self-destructive. He extends his belief that these self-destructive habits still have a legacy today. D'Souza contends that the degree to which many slave descendants suffer from social and self-esteem issues is due to this concept.[citation needed]

D'Souza has attributed many modern social problems to what he calls the "cultural left". In his recent book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, he wrote that:

The cultural left in this country is responsible for causing 9/11 ... the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the non-profit sector and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world. [10]

[edit] Multiculturalism and the Greatness of America

D'Souza's book What's So Great About America? (ISBN 0-142-00301-8) (Penguin, 2003), defends his adopted country against the criticisms that have been directed at it in the last couple of decades. In particular, he argues against the criticisms leveled by the Islamic world, domestic multiculturalists, those seeking slavery reparations, and especially America's left wing. Instead, he contends, Americans themselves are too critical and take for granted the blessings bestowed on them by living within the borders of the United States.[11]

He also takes this a step further and challenges the notion that all world cultures are equal. "If one begins with the multicultural premise that all cultures are equal, then the world as it is makes very little sense," he says. "Some cultures have completely outperformed others in providing the things that all people seek -- health, food, housing, security and the amenities of life."[11]

[edit] Critic of feminism

D'Souza also criticised aspects of feminism in Letters to a Young Conservative, writing that:

The feminist error was to embrace the value of the workplace as greater than the value of the home. Feminism has endorsed the public sphere as inherently more constitutive of women’s worth than the private sphere. Feminists have established as their criterion of success and self-worth an equal representation with men at the top of the career ladder. The consequence of this feminist scale of values is a terrible and unjust devaluation of women who work at home.[12]

[edit] Media appearances

D'Souza has appeared a few times on CNN, [13] [14] including on Glenn Beck (TV program). Other media appearances include ABC's Nightline, CBS's Face the Nation, FOX News Channel's Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, and CNBC's Dennis Miller.[citation needed]

On November 30, 2007, he debated Tufts University professor Daniel Dennett at Tufts on whether or not God was a man made invention.[15]

[edit] The Enemy at Home

 The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.(January 2008)
Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

In early 2007, D'Souza published The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11, in which he argues that the American left was in large part responsible for the Muslim anger that led to the September 11, 2001 attacks.[16]

The book was criticized in major American newspapers and magazines and called, among other things, "the worst nonfiction book about terrorism published by a major house since 9/11"[17] and "a national disgrace."[18]

D'Souza's book caused a controversy in the conservative movement, invoking a barrage of attacks back and forth between D'Souza and his conservative critics who widely mocked the thesis of his book, that the cultural left was responsible for 9/11. In response to his critics, he posted a 6,500-word essay on National Review Online,[19] and NRO subsequently published a litany of responses from conservative authors who accused D'Souza of character assassination, elitism and pseudointellectualism.[20]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Books

Books authored by Dinesh D'Souza include:

[edit] Articles

Articles written by Dinesh D’Souza include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hoover Fellow Dinesh D'Souza Discusses Cultural Differences. dineshdsouza.com.
  2. ^ More About Dinesh D'Souza. Dinesh D'Souza.
  3. ^ About Dinesh D’Souza. Dinesh D'Souza. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  4. ^ Dinesh D'Souza. NNDB. Soylent Communications. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  5. ^ Peter Cannellos (2007-04-19). Conservatives Sour on Rebel Media. Boston Globe.
  6. ^ "Critical Monthly Rouses Princeton", New York Times, 1984-04-29, pp. 52. Retrieved on 2007-10-01. (English) 
  7. ^ 20 years of Policy Review, Policy Review, July 1997
  8. ^ Dinesh D'Souza
  9. ^ Spy Magazine, July, 1989 "The Boys Who Would Be Buckley"
  10. ^ salon.com/news, January 20, 2007
  11. ^ a b Thomas Sowell (2002-06-07). What's So Great About America?. Capitalism Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
  12. ^ D'Souza, Letters to a Young Conservative, pp. 105-6
  13. ^ CNN.com - US - Segregation now? Some still see racial divide on campus - May 30, 2000
  14. ^ Media Matters - "Distort D'Newsa" now a CNN analyst
  15. ^ Daniel Dennett debates Dinesh D'Souza. RichardDawkins.net (2007-12-1). Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  16. ^ salon.com/news, January 20, 2007
  17. ^ Incendiary - washingtonpost.com
  18. ^ The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 - By Dinesh D'Souza. - Books - Review - New York Times
  19. ^ The Closing of the Conservative Mind, Dinesh D'Souza, National Review Online, March 12, 2007
  20. ^ An NRO Symposium on The Enemy at Home on National Review Online

[edit] External links

 The external links in this article may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines.
Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links.
Languages