This clipping is approx 20 years old, but still stands good today, Please Read
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 th
eirs 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!
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 th
eirs 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!
