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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...
~~~~~~~~
" 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 and the United States Constitution , which both
recognize 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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