Ridecamp: [RC] My apologies, Steph

>
> It's not very often we get a chance to read what other country's write
about
> us. This comes from a good friend who's grand son is in Special Forces
> today:
>
> Chandra
>
>
> An editorial from Romanian Newspaper: When you think the US isn't thought
> well of all over the world, read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper.
>
> ~An Ode to America~
>
> Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if
> you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world
> and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly
> extinct, others are incompatible with one another, and in matters of
> religious beliefs, not even God can count how many there are.
>
> Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a
hand
> put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and
> the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to
> empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out ontothe streets nearby to
gape
> about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping
hand.
>
> After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking
> ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national
> flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on
> every car a government official or the president was passing. On every
> occasion they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!"
>
> Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday
once,
> twice, three times, on different TV channels. There was Clint Eastwood,
> Willy Nelson, Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson,
> Bruce Springsteen, Sylvester Stallone, James Wood, and many others whom no
> film or producers could ever bring together. The American's spirit of
> solidarity turned them into a choir. Actually, choir is not the word.
>
> What you could hear was the heavy artillery of the American soul What
> neither George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor Colin Powell could say
> without facing the risk of stumbling over words and sounds, was being
heard
> in a great and unmistakable way through this charity concert.
>
> I don't know how it happened that all this obsessive singing of America
> didn't sound croaky, nationalist, or ostentatious! It made you green with
> envy because you weren't able to sing for your country without running the
> risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or suspected of
> who-knows-what ulterior motive.
>
> I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to
> the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a
> wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey
player,
> who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane
from
> hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of
> people.
>
> How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being?
> Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned
> into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions
> and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a
> man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.
>
> What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their
> galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to
find
> an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding
> commonplace.
>
> I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion. ---- Only
> freedom can work such miracles!
>
>

--- Patrice Hupke
--- pahupke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
--- EarthLink: The #1 provider of the Real Internet.

[RC] My apologies, Steph - superpat