What Do Other Countries “Think” Of the United States?

What Do Other Countries “Think” Of the United States?

Page 25 The AZ-LZ

America: The Good Neighbor — It is not often that the United States gets a compliment

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 For The 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 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 or gone.

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 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."

S t a n d v e r y p r o u d, Ame r i c a!

A n d w e a r i t v e r y p r o u d l

“Would ANY of you   

consider writing a

nice compliment

like about America.

After all, I dare say

you were born here,

but if not, you live

here and fought for

America and Vietnam”