Tribute to the United States

I received this today and think we all need something to feel good 
about.

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 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!
 

When I lived in the Philippines, I had Philippine people stop me and thank me for being an American and helping them during WW2.   One lady, was in WW2, told me that the only thing that kept the hope alive for the Philippine people was that General Mac Arthur said,  " We shall return."

One day in Olongapo City there was a tremendous fire.  The Philippine Fire Department was unable to contain the fire and the fire kept spreading from house to house, engulfing half of the block.  There seemed to be no hope.  Suddenly, through the crowds came the words, the Americans are coming, the Americans are coming.  Quickly appearing on the scene was a crash truck from Cubi Point Naval Air Station.  They drove up to the fire, focused their nozzle on the fire and swoosh, the fire was out.  I was an American and I do know that these Philippine people did appreciate our help and they talk good about the Americans.

I've had Japanese people, who lived in Japan during WW2, tell me that they didn't know why they were at war, they didn't hate the Americans and they had many neighbors that felt the same.  They said that they prayed for the soldiers of both sides to ease them of their sufferings and for their families.

I know that people do cut us down, but it's the media that print mostly the bad.  But, I do wish everyone to know that there are people that do appreciate us.

C. Jeff Dyrek, webmaster