A long off beat article, from which I will get blasted!! But that's
OK, being an ex-Marine I can handle it!! Thanks Canada!! Bill.
TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES
This, from a Canadian newspaper, 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 the franc 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 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!
> > > > >
> > > > > 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 are always blamed for
> > everything, and
> > > never even 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.
> > > > > This was forwarded to me and I wanted to do the same.
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