The Happy Squirrel
09-14-2001, 12:06 PM
soehting else i found i thought i should share:
America: The Good Neighbor.
Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator, gave
widespread but only partial news coverage recently to a
remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto. 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 has a plane to
equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the
Douglas 10? 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, Americans.
America: The Good Neighbor.
Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator, gave
widespread but only partial news coverage recently to a
remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto. 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 has a plane to
equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the
Douglas 10? 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, Americans.