Ameritopia (America + utopia)
Conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin used the invented name of “Ameritopia” (America + utopia) to title his book Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America (2012). There are citations for “Ameritopia” in 2006 and 2008, but Levin’s book popularized the term. Levin explained the word “Ameritopia” in a March 2012 interview with another conservative radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh:
“So this is not the same country it was two centuries ago, or even 100 years ago. So what is it? It’s an ‘Ameritopia’ – an America mixed with utopian statism, heading in the wrong direction. I felt that the title needed to appropriately characterize the nature of the country today.”
Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
uto·pia noun \yu̇-ˈtō-pē-ə\
Definition of UTOPIA
1: an imaginary and indefinitely remote place
2 often capitalized: a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions
3: an impractical scheme for social improvement
Origin of UTOPIA
Utopia, imaginary and ideal country in Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More, from Greek ou not, no + topos place
First Known Use: 1597
All Opinions Are Not Equal
June 27, 2006
Ameritopia
Survey says…we think we’re the best. According to a survey on national pride, American came in first. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13577802/
So what does that mean? I guess I think we’re probably the best just because we’re the richest, so comparatively speaking, we’re the best. But, would I trade in some cash for a better crime record, lower divorce rate, yeah probably. So, here’s the big question for you? How can we make this country better. There are no rules. You can bend or break the constitution if you feel like it’s getting in the way of a better society. But, state what you would change and why it would help? As great as it is, America can’t be the best we can do, can it? What could we do better?
Posted by Eric Olsen at 9:36 PM
OCLC WorldCat record
Ameritopia
Publisher: [Arlington Heights, Ill.] : D. Ives, [2008]
Edition/Format: Music CD : CD audio : Popular music : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Ameritopia and other poems
Author: Glenn Edward Arnett
Publisher: Pittsburgh, Pa. : RoseDog Books, ©2009-
Edition/Format: Book : Poetry : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Ameritopia : the unmaking of America
Author: Mark R Levin
Publisher: New York : Threshold Editions, 2012.
Edition/Format: Book : English : 1st Threshold Editions hardcover ed
Summary: Levin explores the philosophical basis of America’s foundations and the crisis that the government faces today.
Stories
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
My Conversation with Mark Levin
Rush Limbaugh – March 2012 issue
(...)
Rush: People are after me to write a book, and I don’t have to now because you’ve done it with yours. I want to start right at the top, on the title page. You’ve coined a word: Ameritopia. How did you come up with that, and why?
Levin: I’m a big believer in using the language properly, and America is not so much moored by a Constitution anymore. I want to live in America. I want us to be a Constitutional republic, a federal republic, a representative republic, I want the central government to abide by the limits of the Constitution, but it doesn’t. So this is not the same country it was two centuries ago, or even 100 years ago. So what is it? It’s an “Ameritopia” – an America mixed with utopian statism, heading in the wrong direction. I felt that the title needed to appropriately characterize the nature of the country today. So that’s what I think it is, an Ameritopia, and I know who is at fault for it, I know who to blame for it.