In my never ending quest to find the slightest sliver of a sunbeam amongst the rapidly spawning dung heaps, I found this:
(apologies if the formatting is a little crewed sup
----
Date: December 19, 1999 1:47 PM Subject: TRIBUTE TO
THE
UNITED STATES
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: (He also sang
a song several years ago about America)
"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 have 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
chnocracy, 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
----
Cliff
(apologies if the formatting is a little crewed sup
----
Date: December 19, 1999 1:47 PM Subject: TRIBUTE TO
THE
UNITED STATES
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: (He also sang
a song several years ago about America)
"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 have 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
chnocracy, 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
----
Cliff