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!
BLACKBURNE & BROWN
MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC.
George Blackburne, III, Esq.
President and Chief Procrastinator
You
can reach George at george@blackburne.com
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