vision2020
RE: TRIBUTE TO AMERICA
Dear Scott,
I like it that Canadians like us. But are we so insecure that we need
Canada to boost our ego when times get hard? I would be more impressed if
the U.S. would give Canadians some recognition for all the support they have
given us over the years while we often ignore them and assumed all the
credit.
Steve Cooke
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Dredge [mailto:sdredge@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2001 5:11 PM
To: vision2020@moscow.com
Subject: TRIBUTE TO AMERICA
The following, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth
sharing.
Its subject is "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!
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