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To Kill an
American
You probably missed it in
the rush of news last week . . . 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.
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