Has
I'd bet the answer is "No."
And that's unfortunate.
Because now I can't very well ask Muthana about Hale's famous story, "The Man Without a Country."
In part, that's because she's in a Syrian refugee camp, doing interviews and seeking pity from Americans as leverage against President
"I realized I've made a big mistake and I know I've ruined my future and my son's future and I deeply, deeply regret it," she told the Guardian newspaper.
Being a victim is what it's all about now. That's her only play, to be a victim.
The
That's the thing about
When she left America as a teenager, I've got a feeling
And I really don't think they teach Hale much in school these days, nor do schools teach civics that much.
Civics? You mean how government works and what, if any, are the responsibilities of American citizens?
Clearly, that kind of thing isn't taught in schools. If it were, then 60 percent of Americans wouldn't have failed a basic citizenship exam put out by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship. The group surveyed 41,000 Americans on basic questions about American history and government. But why would schools teach civics?
Now, if the fellowship had only given a test on whom
Ask people about the release date of "Game of Thrones" Season 8 and they'll know. But ask Americans how a bill is passed, or if abolishing the
Meh.
Americans do know about becoming victims, though, and having victim status conferred upon them by media.
One thing we know about being a victim is that whatever the transgression or alleged crime, it's not your fault, it's someone else's fault, and they don't like you and therefore, they should pay.
And it helps if you look good on TV.
Muthana is an attractive woman, a seemingly devout Muslim, a mother who speaks in measured, thoughtful tones on TV.
She's a perfect victim, except of course for the stubborn facts of her earlier tweets. Muthana wasn't much concerned about the victim status of Syrian Orthodox Christians when, inside
Consider her tweets when she called for American blood.
"Go on drive-bys and spill all of their blood, or rent a big truck and drive all over them," she tweeted in
And that's exactly what some terrorists did, in the
President
"This is a woman who went online and tried to kill young men and women of
Though Muthana was born in the
"She's not a
Her family's lawyer said she'd been brainwashed by
But how many 19-year-old boys make terrible mistakes, with guns in their hands? Our prisons are full of them.
In Hale's "The Man Without a Country," the traitor
"Damn
His sentence terrified me. He was sentenced to a life at sea, forbidden to set one foot in America, forbidden to see her shores. And while he lived, Nolan was never to hear the words "The United States" again.
He lived a long life. But that's a story. Just like the
Her son is innocent. He should be brought here to be raised by her parents. And I think she's a citizen, since she was born here.
But citizens owe their county something.
I figure she owes 30 years in a federal penitentiary without parole.
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John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune who also hosts a radio show on WLS-AM.