Re: A trbute... copied from a Beaumont club

[Guest guest]

,

I read it & loved it. Unfortunately it was written 30 years ago when

it was announced that the American Red Cross was in financial

difficulty. I think it still rings true today.

Janet

> > 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 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 flags held 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!

> >