America: The Good Neighbor
Last Updated: October 29, 2001

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.  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!  Wear it proudly!!