Editorial from Canada 

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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:

"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 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.  America
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"),
of course America will not gloat, she continues to lend a helping hand to
all her neighbors.

Stand proud, Americans

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