Former Reagan adviser to deliver Kirby Lecture

Dinesh D’Souza, a former policy analyst for the Reagan White House and the former John M. Olin Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, will speak at Wilkes University today as part of the Allan P. Kirby Center Lecture Series.

D’Souza has been called one of the “top young public-policy makers in the country” by Investor’s Business Daily, and one of America's most influential conservative thinkers by The New York Times Magazine. His lecture is titled “Why America is Loved, Why America is Hated.”

“I’m going to speak on what are the unique aspects of America and why is the role of America so controversial in the world today,” said D’Souza. “I’m going to explore the issue of patriotism, and I am going to ask whether America is deserving of rational allegiance.”

By “rational allegiance,” D’Souza said he means whether the United States is worthy of its citizens’ love, and whether patriotism is a rational emotion.

D’Souza also said he will be drawing from some of his most recent books, including: The Enemy at Home, which looks at Islamic radicals and what he believes made them successful.

Trevor Hirsh, a junior entrepreneurship major, will introduce D’Souza at the lecture. He said he thinks D'Souza's speech will be intriguing and useful.

"That is so amazing," said Hirsh. "To be 17 years old and then ten years later be advising the president. That's not much older than we are."

D’Souza brings the perspective of an immigrant with him when he speaks, too.

Born in India, D’Souza traveled to the U.S. when he was 17 years-old. He then attended college at Dartmouth, and was advising President Ronald Reagan by the age of 26.

“The immigrant has the advantage of growing up in a different culture, but the immigrant has the disadvantage of not knowing a lot about America,” said D’Souza. “Most immigrants have the foreign accent; they haven’t lived in America very long. So they know about some other culture, but they don’t know a lot about America.”

“To me, the kind of perspective I bring is the dual perspective of being both an insider and an outsider,” he added. “That I think has helped my work and will certainly inform the theme of my talk.”

D’Souza is currently working on two books, which will add to his already lengthy catalog of works. One book focuses on “Obama’s America,” which will be released in the fall. The second looks at God and suffering, and is expected to be released next fall.

Hirsh said, "I think it is important to get different perspectives… One of the things that I’m going to ask him is why he left his country, what is the education background that enabled him to be a Reagan adviser so young, and just ask him about his personal life right now."

D’Souza will speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts. The event is free and open to the public.