Tribute To America: By Gordon Sinclair a Canadian
America: The Good Neighbor.
"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.
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!