mskitty38583

Written by an Australian Dentist....and too good to delete....

To Kill an American
You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)


'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.


An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.


An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan.The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.


An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.


An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.



The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence , which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.


An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.


When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!


As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan . Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.


The national symbol of America, the Statue of Liberty , welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America .


Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11 , 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself . Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

__________________
WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION

CookieCows

Outstanding .... I hadn't thought of it that way

Thanks,
Deb

__________________

Chironex

That always cracks me up when crossing the border into Canada, when they ask "Are you an American?" To which I always reply, Yes, and aren't you, too? They usually reply, No, I am Canadian.

Last time I checked, America was a continent, North, Central and South - all Americas, right?

__________________
Scot

saltydad

Thanks Sam, for sharing this. I have forwarded it at this time of national reflection just prior to the inauguration.

__________________
Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and
http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad
http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

stumpy4700

That gave me goosebumps...and proud to stand up and say I AM AN AMERICAN!!!!!!!!
Thanks Sam.

lorax

It always cracks me up here. I'm Canadian by birth and American by continent, and don't mind saying it. People here often assume I'm United-Statesian, to which I normally reply that I am from Canada originally, but that since they are from Guatemala or Venezuela or Colombia or Ecuador or wherever else on the South American continent or Central American peninsula, like me they are also Americans, and maybe they should watch who they're calling Gringa. I actually find it funnier when they think I'm French or German, or in one very funny case, from southern Ecuador - I suppose that all Gringos look alike.

Tsmith2579

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but this was written by Peter Ferrara, an associate law professor at George Mason University and published in the National Review (magazine) on Sept. 25, 2001, two weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. But is is an excellent piece. The way is is written, no one can complain the author is a bigotted isolationist, xenophobe or racist.

buzzwinder

No matter who the author, Still a Great Writing!

__________________


Bill for my friend

CookieCows

I have to admitt I needed to look some of these terms up that you labeled this man as! Don't hold back now ... tell us what you really think! If he is that kind of a person I don't know how he could write an article such as that unless he's got more than one person in that body. I guess people can do the strangest things?

Deb

__________________

lorax

That type of article could certainly be written as a backhanded satire by someone who is bigoted or xenophobic. Look at it with a heavy sense of irony and you'll se what Tsmith was talking about.

saltydad

I think TSmith's post is that if we had known the writer was a "right winger". he would have been labeled as a xenophobe, racist, etc. (which obviously he is not) by the liberals among us (such as me). Unfortunately it may be true, but I'd like to think that we would look at the substance of the message rather than the writer.

__________________
Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and
http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad
http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

buzzwinder

Thank you Howard, "the substance of the message " are the words I was looking for!

__________________


Bill for my friend

Worm_Farmer

FWD, to all my friends and family, Thank you