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September 14, 2001
Every once in a while, I'll get something or
read something that really hits a good chord. This rave is not
coming from me rather, it is coming as a Canadian editorial.
Once again, this is his writing, not mine (in
purple)
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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I could not have said it better myself.
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