Fw: OUR AMERICA-The Gordon Sinclair Editorial (Long)

["Ken Townsend" <townsend.buggies.sleighs@qc.aibn.com>]

This was printed in l973, and is once again making its rounds across
Canada.  Americans can be very Proud.  Thank You.
> 
> > From a Canadian editorial... 
> > 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, war- mongering 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!" 
> > 
> >