"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. No one volunteered any aid. 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 of those."
Stand proud, America!
This is one of the best editorials that I have ever read
regarding the United States. It is nice that one man realizes
it.I only wish that
the rest of the world would realize it. We are always blamed for
everything, and never even get a
thank you for the
things we do. I would hope that each of you would send this to as
many people as you can and
emphasize that they
should send it to as many of their friends until this letter is sent
to every person on the web.