Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 10:40:02 -0700
Reply-To: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
Subject: Re: God Bless America (non Van)
In-Reply-To: <20010915.101909.-161909.0.dscrkjohns@juno.com>
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For what it's worth, that was broadcast in 1973 by Gordon Sinclair with
reference to the Vietnam war. It's been reprinted often since.
Charles
'85 Westy
At 10:19 AM 9/15/01 -0700, Sonia Johnson wrote:
>Okay, here's another perspective on US activity in the world:
>
>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!
>________________________________________________________________
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