Great country

[flash9286]

A lot of other countries are mocking our "Election"
(including us Americans) and the jokes are funny
but think about the following from a CANADIAN newspaper.

********************************

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. 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, war- mongering 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!"

[Velociryx]

Uh oh....here come the flames.....

Shhh! You're not supposed to say anything nice about the USA....it's not what all the cool kids are doing!

But yes, this is an older piece still making the rounds. Of course, watch and see, it'll get nit-picked apart here shortly....

-=Vel=-

[flash9286]

yeah i know but im ready to defend america

[General Ludd]

That's so 1970's.

[Eli]

[GePap]

Originally posted by charmon1
yeah i know but im ready to defend america

And as we all know, you are so alone in that.....

If you believe America is so great, then do it a favor and don't try, just let it bask in its self-evident goodness and move on, being proud and happy to be American.

[Kropotkin]

I don't see what that long part about the american commerical airliners industry has to do with anything really or why anyone should thank the US for sending a couple of men to the moon... Seems a bit far fetched.

Don't take me wrong, I'm not saying US is the great satan but this article isn't really a good one. Why should there be any outside aid after the San Franciso quake? For the emergency itself outside help would take months by boat...

[flash9286]

well i am proud to be an american as would be proud to be a candian if i was born in canada. as of why they should help after the san franciso quake is becuase we have helped almost any country that has asked for our help

[General Ludd]

Now that I think about it, that article kind of has a whole new meaning now.

The way the same article has been used by americans for some 30 odd years now to defend their country and show people how great it is, just shows how many people actually like the country - since it is apparently the only positive article that's ever been written about them. Too bad the guy who wrote it is dead.

[flash9286]

do you really want me to go post the other articles why america is so good.

[Traianvs]

dude i guess everybody likes to live in his own country it's pretty normal.. but being proud, uh-uh.. i'm not "proud" of my country, though it could be worse

could be better though too much taxes + tax evasion , the more you raise taxes, the more people will try to do tax evasion, it's as simple as that

[flash9286]

i dont mind paying taxes, taxes is a part of life so stop crying about it.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by charmon1
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?

Concorde and European Airbuses for starters

If so, why don't they fly them?

They do

Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes?

They don't

Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon?

It's pointless

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.

But where does it get you?

Can you name me even one time when
someone else raced to the Americans in trouble?

9/11



When was that written, I've read it before, and I find it as amusingly misguided now as I did then.

[atawa]

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?

Not a country, but in Europe they build Airbus, a goor rival of Boeing.

[flash9286]

first off the airplane issue has already been adressed. Putting a man on the moon was a big accomplish 1. becuase nobody else could do it. 2. one day humans will have to find other planets to live.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin
When was that written, I've read it before, and I find it as amusingly misguided now as I did then.

It was written in 1973. The author (Gordon Sinclar) died in '84.

[Hueij]

1. becuase nobody else could do it.

Bull....

2. one day humans will have to find other planets to live.

Why? Because you Ameriko's proudly f****d up our planet?

[flash9286]

bull who else could

[XarXo]

The author of the text needs more memory to remember "tiny" things that this democratic state made.

No more words.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by charmon1
bull who else could

The technology is available to most countries. The necessary resources are also available to most countries. All it needs is the political will to waste a few hundred billion dollars.

Claiming that only the US can do it is like claiming only the US could build the atom bomb. (The cost of developing nuclear weapons was of the same order of magnitude as the final cost of the Apollo programme of the 1960s)

[flash9286]

of course they could go now but america went first and built the first atomic bomb it couldnt been done without america

[Dauphin]

Arrogance...

[Dauphin]

Even if the US never existed, atom bombs would still exist and the moon would still be an attainable destination for everyone.

There is an amusing quote in the library on this subject, if someone can find it for me.

[GePap]

Originally posted by charmon1
of course they could go now but america went first and built the first atomic bomb it couldnt been done without america

Since the first to discover nuclear fission were a bunch of europeans, since most of the key scentists who built the nuclear bomb were European sceintists who had fled Europe before the war, bacause the laws of thermodynamics, general relatity, and all other physical and chemical laws are the same eveyrwhere in the world, because the russians were the first to put a man in space, or an object in space, I wil safely assume that any rich state could have built a nuke even if the US had not first.

Carmon1: there are many valid ways to argue about the greatness of America: making baseless techinical arguments you are wrong about to boot is not one of them.

[red_jon]

Charmon has just learned how to set up his first computer. He's using AOL as they are such good value and provide services others do not have.

[flash9286]

i use roadrunner, ah i didnt really mean to say that they couldnt be built without america what i meant is almost every countrys space program expect russia has been helped from america. i really dont have to time to check and the european scientists i know there were alot of them on the project but their were american scientists on it too. As of the space program america will probaly be the first to go to the moon not bragging just saying facts.

[red_jon]

Originally posted by charmon1
i use roadrunner, ah i didnt really mean to say that they couldnt be built without america what i meant is almost every countrys space program expect russia has been helped from america. i really dont have to time to check and the european scientists i know there were alot of them on the project but their were american scientists on it too. As of the space program america will probaly be the first to go to the moon not bragging just saying facts.

Apparently when you're reffering to yourself you should use a capital letter.

Example - 'I'. Now, try and follow it with 'hate Bush'. There, doesn't that feel better?









A new recruit

[flash9286]

grammer is a waste of time

[Dauphin]

Spelling too by the looks of it.

[MrFun]

I'm usually objective when looking at my own country, but to ensure that the other side gets heard here is a question:

Before 9/11, why was it that United States never received international help in disasters?