Apologies for cross-posting, but it's nice to know that there are people out
there who acknowledge and appreciate how great America is.
TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES
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 5,000 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
This is one of the best editorials that I have ever read regarding the
United States. It is nice that one man realizes it. I only wish that the
rest of the world would realize it.
We seem to be blamed for everything, and don't get a thank you for the
things we do.
I would hope that each of you would send this to as many people as you can
and emphasize that
they should send it to as many of their friends until this letter is sent
to every person on the web. I am just a single American that has read
this, I SURE HOPE THAT A LOT MORE READ IT SOON.
Makes you proud to live here doesn't it??
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