O/T : What is an American ?

[Canes4Ever]

WHAT IS AN AMERICAN?

The following was said to have been written by a
dentist in Australia.

"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 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 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.

Americans welcome the best, the best products, the
best books, the best music, the best food, the best
athletes. 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, earning a better life for their
families. [I've been told that the World Trade Center
victims were from at least 30 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!"

Pass this around the World!

[XsinshineX]

That was so cool.

[Canes4Ever]

Originally posted by XsinshineX
That was so cool.

Thanks brother, I hope more folks read it and pass it on !

[arthurb999]

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.

Nice!

[Canes4Ever]

Originally posted by Diesel
Nice Canes!

Americans are opinionated and can appear to others as obnoxious. We have the freedom to voice our petty differences and exercise that right to it's fullest extent. However, throw a 'stone' our way and we are the quikest to put all our differences on the back burner and gel together as one. When that happens: "Run Motha Fucker 'Cus were Comin!"

Diesel hit the nail on the head ! Yes, we don't always agree with things one party is doing or the other, or what one ethnic group stands for or another, but baby, as 9/11 showed.....you touch an American, and baby it's all friggin' over.

This country has survived because of the sacrifices our forefathers and foremothers practiced, and because they believed that the human spirit needed to be free to survive and flourish. That is why so many countries and peoples are jealous of us, they can't stand it that we have succeded where so many other types of regimes have failed, and our success points directly at their system of governments failure.

Many people thought that our way of life would succumb to the "Red Tide" sweeping the world after WW2, but in the end our love of freedom and our way of life proved once again that freedom and democracy are the true spirit of the human manifest.

That.......

And we had a lot more money than anyone else

[Trianon]

I don't know, I think that dentist bit off too much. I saw some "Americans" cheering right after Sept 11, and talk about "daisy cutters" in Afgan, that was a lot of help And where is a freedom to juice? I think somebody was high and wrote this up, it does sound solemn, but doesn't inspire me, maybe I am too realistic.

[MindBomb]

Good post. I am an American.