written by a Canadian author.
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, 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!
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