The
following was said to be written by
a dentist in Australia.
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 I just thought I would
write to let them 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 Mexican,
African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese,
Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab,
or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American
may also be a Cherokee, Osage,
Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, 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 choose.
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 is from 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 man and woman 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. When Afghanistan
was overrun 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. The best products, the
best books, the best music, the best
food, the best athletes.
Americans welcome the best, but
they also welcome the least. The
national symbol of America 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 in the
morning of September 11,
earning a better life for their
families. [I've been told that the
people in the Towers were from at
least 30, and maybe many more, other
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 every bloodthirsty
tyrant in the history of 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.
So look around you. You may find
more Americans in your land than you
thought were there. One day they
will rise up and overthrow the old,
ignorant, tired tyrants that trouble
too many lands. Then those lands,
too, will join the community of free
and prosperous nations.
And America will welcome them.