Follow up 美国颂, another good one - "Tribute to US"

After reading Noso's 美国颂, I remembered I read a similar moving article years ago. So I looked at my inventory and gladly found it. Here you go...

TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES

(This, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing.
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. Last 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.
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 help them? 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.”

Stand proud, America!
Wear it proudly!!