StaticAndSilence

Static and Silence
2001-09-13 13:55:04 (UTC)

This speaks for itself

In the wake of the national tragedy, this is worth reading.
We still live in the greatest country in the world and
sometimes we forget what we have worked so hard for. This,
recently 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."




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