I got this and figured I would share it....

An American.......
Body: Written by an Australian Dentist....and too good to delete....

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.


Please keep this going!
Pass this around the World ?
Then pass it around again.
It says it all, for all of us

We are in a melting pot aren't we...

Originally Posted by Team Infidel

We are in a melting pot aren't we...

Yeah an there was a whole bunch left out.....

Great post.

Pfff.... he left out the Dutch!

They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

Oh please spare me.... Why is an Australian dentist so full of the Americans? I can understand that this has been the point of view decades even centuries ago. But saying this after WO II is to deny other people's suffering, deprivation and anguish for the last 50 years. America has had so many dirty digits in many dirty affairs that you can't speak of an universal value of freedom! I have heard the phrase "in the American interest" too many times...

Originally Posted by Ted

Pfff.... he left out the Dutch!



Oh please spare me.... Why is an Australian dentist so full of the Americans? I can understand that this has been the point of view decades even centuries ago. But saying this after WO II is to deny other people's suffering, deprivation and anguish for the last 50 years. America has had so many dirty digits in many dirty affairs that you can't speak of an universal value of freedom! I have heard the phrase "in the American interest" too many times...

Why can't you? I am biased in my opinions of course since I am an American serving in the military. You have heard "In the Amreican interest" several times as have I and many others. You have also seen the results of other countries using a similar phrase "in the <insewrt country name> interest".

Think about this letter from every single aspect of two sides of an argument - for and against. I guarantee you will find very strong arguments both for and against.

I would like to think the more compelling arguments would be the ones on the side of America. But not everyone has the same patriotism and loyalty as I do.

Well I say it is time for us to be like, well.... .....

Americans get on way too much.....

More so then we dish out.....

Originally Posted by Donkey

Well I say it is time for us to be like, well.... .....

Americans get on way too much.....

More so then we dish out.....

I dont think most people in the rest of the world would agree with that, I'd say just the opposite.

America does alot of good, for example foreign aid, humanitarian work, promotion of democracy, of human rights, etc. I could go on and on. And it is true that other people focus only on the bad we do and not the good.

But we do some bad things in the world too, and I think we are not always honest about this with ourselves about this. We tend to see ourselves as always being right, and never doing wrong and this dillusion is used to coverup some really awful things we are responible for (directly and indirectly). The worst thing in my opinion, is our trade policies with third world countries espically Africa an Latin America, espically in Agriculture. I have always thought that greed is our greatest weakness. The trade policies we negiociate make the Elite of these countries (most of whom are dictators) very rich while the other 95% of the population suffers. The 'Elites' (such as those in Saudi Arabia) use their money on security and military forces to keep their people in a box with no way out. Its no coincidence that oppression, poverty, and suffering becomes furtile ground for terrorism and other forms of criminality. Drugs is another example. American and European subsides on exports place local agriculture of poor countries out of the market. Peasants in places like Colombia grow the only crop that they can sell: coco leaves. If these peasants got a good price for beans and rice they are supposed to grow, they would be less inclined to grow illegal crops.

I will conclude that we have begun to make some improvement on this, such as cancelling alot of Foreign Debt, but alot more needs to be done.

Just my opinion...

Originally Posted by Marinerhodes

Why can't you? I am biased in my opinions of course since I am an American serving in the military.

I just think that the definition of freedom is also culturally defined and there are so many of those. I do agree with you that there is a certain set of rudimentary freedoms which are general; such as living without oppression, with food, shelter etc. America wanting to enhance these values across the globe is one thing. But it is the motive that compel them to enter one country and leave to other at it's one whim.

As Donkey puts it so gently, maybe a little more isolationism might not even be so bad. Bad if you want to be a world player you'll have to go out and do business. Locking yourself up behind your borders isn't going to help you in that case.

Source on this Australian Dentist please?

Oh please spare me.... Why is an Australian dentist so full of the Americans

I don't think he exists.
Sure we mostly like Americans but not that much. It's not part of the Australian culture to talk about anyone like that... not even ourselves.

It sounds like it is written by an American.


(Not that I disagree with the piece. It's just no Aussie would write it)