This was touched upon in another thread today. Probably a hoax letter, but who cares:
You gotta love this Aussie!
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 the following 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, 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 twenty years ago, Americans came with
arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their
country. As of the morning of September 11, 2001,
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 thirty 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, and every blood
thirsty 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 and
freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit,
everywhere, is an American.
