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Thank you, Australia!
Written by an Australian dentist, and submitted by Patty
Johnson:
“To Kill An American: You probably missed it in the rush of
news last week, but there was actually a report in a newspaper
where someone in Pakistan had offered 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 could recognize one:
‘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 Sept. 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
Sept. 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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When I read something like this, it warms my heart, but also
shakes me. It starts with us here in Calhoun County. We cannot
be complacent about our gifts. They are not rights, they are
gifts. Gifts that must be maintained, improved and polished.
Through the years, from the first settlers until now, people
have shed blood and given their lives that we may keep our
gifts.
Wake up, Calhoun County! Remember, solutions to problems
start at home. Elections are coming up. Know the platforms of
the candidates, know their moral ethics, know their visions for
the future. We do have a future.
Prepare to vote by being informed!
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