Greetings friends.
I got this from a (n American) friend, and (for obvious reasons) quite liked it. I figured that the people on
this list are from nations other than Americansmost likely to agree (at least in part) with the sentiments
presented.
I look forward to any input, perhaps best done in private (to avoid clogging the mepbm list).
Thanks.
b (Ben Shushan)
TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES
This, from a Canadian newspaper, no less, is worth sharing.
America: The Good Neighbor.
Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from
Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. What follows is the full text of his
trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:
"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least
appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted
out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in
debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United
States.
When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward
was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59
American communities were flattened by tornadoes.
Nobody helped.
The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now
newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans.
I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar
build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the
Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines
except Russia fly American Planes?
Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese
technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about
American technocracy, and you find men on the moon - not once, but several times and safely home again.
You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at.
Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them,
unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.
When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who
rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old
caboose. Both are still broke.
I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me
even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even
during the San Francisco earthquake.
Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get
kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to
thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of
those."
Stand proud, America!
PS Yes, I'm American, so obviously biased. I just wanted to see if _any_ people in foreign nations see
some validity (I'm not saying every specific point is necessarily true - I haven't done the research) in the
general sentiment (not the "chest beating" stuff so much as the under-apreciated stuff). If the majority of
the non-American people getting this (outside the US, I belive the recipients are mostly Canadians, Brits,
Aussies, some Scandinavians and a few people from the rest of Europe) don't feel that it does have some
validity, I guess I know where the rest of the world stands .... If I've offended anyone, please understand
that that is not my intention. I'm just interested to get a bit of the "pulse" outside of here. And not on
the "immediate" issue, but on the more general sentiment proposed in the editorial. Thanks to those of you
who have indulged me thusfar, and, once again, I want to _stress_ that this is in no way intended to offend.