# America: The Good Neighbor



## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

The source for this is unknown and there are numerous copies of this on the internet so I'm not sure if it was really from a newspaper or not and the author is dead. For what it's worth, it's an interesting piece. (The images did not come with the article.)










[ September 14, 2001: Message edited by: cchiu ]


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## jill reichow (Mar 12, 2001)

cchiu, here is the reply my comp sci son sent me from VT when I sent that message to him. No matter what, the message is still the same.

Here's the real story on that quote:

On June 5 1973, Canadian radio commentator Gordon Sinclair decided he'd had
enough of the stream of criticism and negative press recently directed at
the United States of America by foreign journalists (primarily over
America's long military involvement in Vietnam, which had ended with the
signing of the Paris Peace Accords six months earlier). When he arrived at
radio station CFRB in Toronto that morning, he spent twenty minutes dashing
off a two-page editorial defending the USA against its carping critics which
he then delivered in a defiant, indignant tone during his "Let's Be
Personal" spot at 11:45 AM that day.
The unusualness of any foreign correspondent -- even one from a country with
such close ties to the USA as Canada -- delivering such a caustic commentary
about those who would dare to criticize the USA is best demonstrated by the
fact that even thirty years later, many Americans doubt that this piece
(which has been circulating on the Internet in the slightly-altered form
quoted above as something "recently" printed in a Toronto newspaper) is
real. It is real, and it received a great deal of attention in its day.
After Sinclair's editorial was rebroadcast by a few American radio stations,
it spread like wildfire all over the country. It was played again and again
(often superimposed over a piece of inspirational music such as "Battle Hymn
of the Republic" or "Bridge Over Troubled Waters"), read into the Congress
Record multiple times, and finally released on a record (titled "The
Americans"), with all royalties donated to the American Red Cross. (A
Detroit radio broadcaster named Byron MacGregor recorded and released an
unauthorized version of the piece that hit the record stores before
Sinclair's official version; an infringement suit was avoided when MacGregor
agreed to donate his profits to the Red Cross as well).

Sinclair passed away in 1984, but he will long be remembered on both sides
of the U.S.-Canadian border -- both for his contributions to journalism, and
for his loudly proclaiming what no one else at the time would stand up and
say.


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

from my edited post from canada:

thank you mr. sinclair for your article many years ago that seems to have helped some of
the surviors of tuesdays attacks.

please see article posted:
http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/cgi-loca...c&f=9&t=000450

new york was reduced to a hellish hole filled with the souls of the innocent.
I have spoken with an air traffic controller, stock brokers,
firefighters, families of the missing.

i fear we have all lost friends
and family in the most profound way. i cannot imagine what will happen next. 
no one, no country, no tribe, no human should have to go through this again. 
no one should support policies that cause such things. there are better ways to share the
planet.

nyc has orderd 11,000 body bags, i understand more or less may be needed.
my wish is to require non at all and start tuesday morning all over again.
i have edited this post.

[ September 14, 2001: Message edited by: m brown ]


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## greg (Dec 8, 1999)

Babas, yes this does affect the whole world. But, it happened *to* America. The reaction here, then, is somewhat more emotionally charged, as you might imagine. My hope for the future is that no one has ever to feel this way again. I wouldn't expect any kind of intellectual understanding anytime soon. Or ever, now that I think of it; terrorism defies reason and logic.

BTW, regardless of the tone of that piece of writing, most (if not all) people in my country feel and appreciate the support of the global community.


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## kylew (Aug 14, 2000)

I find it interesting that the 2 complaints I have seen, at Cheftalk, about American patriotism have come from England and Sweden. The United States is under attack by Osama Bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden is a madman. This link will take you to excerpts from interviews given by and fatwahs issued by Bin Laden. Please read them carefully. In my reading I did not see any mention of a declaration of war against nor a call for the killing of innocent citizens of either England or Sweden.

[ September 15, 2001: Message edited by: KyleW ]


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Wow Babas,
Have you ever missed the point!!!


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

Hey Babas,

Let us remember one thing...

When there is a problem ANYWHERE in the world, the US is there! When there is a natural disaster, the US is there. When there is some call for help, the US is there. We do not build walls, pal, we help knock them down.

*Stick to your Swedish nuetrality with everything, don't get involved and turn your head while WE do what needs to be done. *

Anybody that knows me or read my posts knows that I do not come unglued, but we are talking about people's lives. I don't think there is anything about "a lack of intellectual understanding of the situation. " What's to understand? People died. Alot of people died.

United WE stand!


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

CC, Jim, Greg, beautiful posts, and so true. God has surely blessed America. Your love and patriotism is living proof.


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