--- description: Birth of a Nation title: Birth of a Nation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) # Birth of a Nation (17 May 2007) by [TIME](/author/time/) May 17, 2007 4:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) May 17, 2007 4:00 AM CUT Bob Deans’ insightful perspective in the cover package “America at 400” brings some reality to our national self-esteem and makes us better for it \[May 7\]. If Deans were to author every American history book in our nation’s schools, students would eagerly anticipate history class. His intelligent, humorous and bluntly honest account of our colorful, tumultuous journey as a nation is written in a witty, often self-deprecating style that is typically American. Our forebears stumbled, triumphed and persevered with glorious and sometimes tragic results, and they prevailed, shaping the nation we are today. Deans could make any schoolchild feel pride in our ancestors’ struggle to create that nascent and scrappy nation called America. _Stephanie DePrima, SALEM, OREGON, U.S._ When the British arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, the settlement of New Mexico was 67 years old. Florida’s St. Augustine was 42\. Even if we date America’s birth from the establishment of the first European settlements, it is long past time for us to abandon the Manifest Destiny concept that American history is solely the story of how the English arrived on the East Coast and triumphantly moved West. _David Bamberger, CLEVELAND_ As a woman of color, I believe professor Orlando Patterson oversimplified the state of race in this country. While it is true that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Senator Barack Obama have accomplished feats previously off-limits to African Americans, the success of these two individuals cannot be used as evidence that “it is now incontestable that \[blacks\] belong to America as America belongs to them.” What about Katrina or the nearly 25% of blacks who live in poverty? I highly doubt that people in these circumstances believe America belongs to them. _Monique Robinson, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, U.S._ **Phony or for Real?** Re Joe Klein’s piece on the person he called the “no baloney candidate” \[May 7\]: We need someone like John Edwards as President of the U.S. He will say what he means and mean what he says. Most candidates beat around the bush on controversial topics like health care. Does the nation want more surprises like our current Administration’s zany ideas? I don’t. George W. Bush has been making the world more unstable with his decisions. _Daniel Swain, PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S._ I read Klein’s assessment of Edwards with amazement. It was naive, to say the least. Edwards is without a doubt the most phony-baloney candidate out there, Democrat or Republican. He is the model of political self-interest. Edwards has been carefully grooming himself for political glory ever since he finished milking the health-care industry for every cent he could as a trial lawyer specializing in personal-injury litigation. His baby kissing and do-gooder track record clearly indicate he’s an ego-driven man purely in it for himself and will do whatever is politically expedient to achieve the highest elected office in the country. _Jeremy Dreyer, MATTHEWS, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S._ **Healing Earth, Healing Ourselves** Your article on Darfur clearly spelled out how climate change can generate conflict \[May 7\]. I don’t understand why it is so politically incorrect to say plainly that the world is becoming overpopulated and more people must use birth control. And if the oceans are rising even as various regions lack potable water, why isn’t there more discussion about building desalination plants around the world? The U.S. National Security Council and the U.N. always respond to crises like Darfur by sending peacekeepers and money. Why don’t they try the more viable solutions of birth control and water desalination? _Linda Smith, FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S._ **Each Scarier Than the Other** Although I agreed with Richard Corliss’s “10 All-Time Best Movie Villains” \[May 7\], I thought Robert Mitchum was even scarier in Night of the Hunter than in Cape Fear, or maybe it was just that Shelley Winters was such a perfect victim. One of the best recent female villains was Polly Walker in HBO’s series Rome. As Atia of the Julii, she is lovely, charming, sometimes even amusing, but always diabolically evil as she plots mischief, mayhem and revenge — and then flounces off to enjoy her latest male conquest. Rebecca Silverberg, SAN FRANCISCO **What Walls Stand For** Re “A world divided” \[May 7\]: Israeli lawyer Danny Seidemann hits the nail on the head in stating, “When a wall becomes an ideology or a panacea, it says a lot more about the people who built it than those it’s keeping out.” The wall the Israelis are building in the West Bank incorporates all the big Israeli illegal settlements and steals land. It is intended to fix the border between Israel and the Palestinian state unilaterally, and reflects Israel’s intention to keep conquered territory. The success of the original stated reason — security — is hard to judge. _Mike Barnes, WATFORD, ENGLAND_ Terrorism is the problem, not the walls. If we could establish the rule of law, and civilized living, globally, through a reformed and effective U.N. organization, enforcing the law when necessary, mankind everywhere would be better off. There should then be no need to build walls dividing people from each other. _John Quinn, DUBLIN_ **Publicity Stunts** I agree wholeheartedly with the Tillman family members’ claims that they were told lies about how Pat Tillman died \[May 7\]. But I have a problem with Jessica Lynch’s current anger at the Army for mischaracterizing her as a hero. Didn’t she ride the hero train to the max with a book deal and a movie? I hope Pat Tillman’s relatives obtain the results they seek. I’m from a military family, and his decision to quit the NFL and join the military was a source of pride for all military personnel and their families. I wish someone other than Lynch could have been found to speak with the Tillman family before Congress. _Sonji Gall, FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA, U.S._ **Alfred’s Acid Tests** Re “Was Timothy Leary right?” about the medical profession’s renewed interest in psychedelic drugs \[April 30\]: I feel sad that we’ve waited this long for the world to wake up to the potential of these unique and powerful substances. You did not mention some of Alfred Hubbard’s successful studies conducted in the ’60s using LSD to treat recovering alcoholics. The clinical benefits of these compounds may still be disputed by conservative researchers, but I can attest to the life-changing attributes of these chemicals. Leary set back the movement with his approach to psychedelics, but I hope that the doors of research and perception will be reopened. _Stephen Kavanagh, MONIFIETH, SCOTLAND_ **Parents’ Pain** As a mother, I grieve for those Virginia Tech kids whose lives ended abruptly \[April 30\]. Bitter memories will haunt their families for a long time. The healing process will take many years. Prayers are the greatest tools to help them go on and pick up the pieces. I sympathize not only with the victims’ parents but also with the parents of Cho Seung-Hui. They didn’t want the shootings to happen either. Their pain is the worst kind that parents can experience. There is no end to their misery. They too need our prayers. _Myrna D. Villarruz, LIPA CITY, THE PHILIPPINES_ **Misplaced Priorities** At the root of the struggles in Nigeria is the question of which group will preside over the country’s huge oil revenues, rather than who will preside over its people \[April 23\]. The political system has bred wanton corruption and violence and excluded visionary and selfless people from the political process. Politicians are compelled to maintain the status quo, and the masses get more impoverished in the process. For a democratic culture — the precursor to economic development — to take root in Nigeria, the political structure must be reformed. _Donatus Eche, WARRI, NIGERIA_ Birth of a Nation ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6681042/birth-of-a-nation-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6681042/birth-of-a-nation-2/"},"headline":"Birth of a Nation (17 May 2007)","datePublished":"2007-05-17T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-21T01:55:45.923Z","description":"Birth of a Nation","url":"https://time.com/archive/6681042/birth-of-a-nation-2/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6681042/birth-of-a-nation-2/","name":"Birth of a Nation (17 May 2007)"}}]}] ```