To Kill An American

[Bone]

To Kill an American:
You might have missed this in the news from awhile ago, but there was a report that someone at a newspaper in Pakistan had published an offer of 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 would know when they found one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAkuLXwJuVI


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, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

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 September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan ..
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, 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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[Aviator32]

deleted - sorry, I can't help myself :banghead:

[Bone]

deleted - sorry I can't help myself :banghead:

I saw it before you deleted it, and I'm glad you deleted it.

[txnetcop]

deleted - sorry, I can't help myself :banghead:

Actually deleting was a demonstation of wisdom!!!

[Aviator32]

I saw it before you deleted it, and I'm glad you deleted it.

I know, I'm sorry. I find it very hard to contain myself when I see writing like that even though if I'm an American I surely have the freedom to express myself? Or is that un-American? I'm never sure these days. But yes, sometimes it's better to just walk away and be thankful :icon_lol:

[txnetcop]

Reuben we are not a democracy in here but we are fair. I appreciate your wisdom in deleting the post it saved us the trouble of doing so.
Ted

[Aviator32]

Reuben we are not a democracy in here but we are fair. I appreciate your wisdom in deleting the post it saved us the trouble of doing so.
Ted


I'm trying desperately hard not to come across as provocative here Ted but did you actually see what I wrote?
'I am not an American'
You would have deleted that?

[Rattler]

:salute::salute::salute:

[Henry]

I'm trying desperately hard not to come across as provocative here Ted but did you actually see what I wrote?
'I am not an American'
You would have deleted that?
no cos im not an American either
i just happen to reside here
but there again i do not know what you said
its just one of those thread headers that get everyone looking
H

[Bone]

I know, I'm sorry. I find it very hard to contain myself when I see writing like that even though if I'm an American I surely have the freedom to express myself? Or is that un-American? I'm never sure these days. But yes, sometimes it's better to just walk away and be thankful :icon_lol:

I'm not a fanatic about anything. I'm just a guy trying to get through life as best as I can, as comfortable as I can, and as trouble free as I can. So, posting something like this isn't me shouting out "Im an American, and damn proud of it!". I've travelled to alot of places in the world, and will continue to do so....because I really like the world and the cultures that go along with it. I consider myself to be a citizen of the world, as corny as that sounds.

I posted this because I thought it a good reminder to us all that we are all world citizens to some extent. The U.S. is recognized as a melting pot of world cultures, but the same thing is happening in Europe. The Youtube video pretty much speaks for itself, and for me in this matter.

Like I said, I saw your comment, and was perfectly happy to let it ride. I only spoke up when I had seen the change you made, because I thought you did the right thing.


I'm trying desperately hard not to come across as provocative here Ted but did you actually see what I wrote?
'I am not an American'
You would have deleted that?

You did have another line in there, which I wont tell the others here, and that line is what lended it the flavor that didn't go down so well. But, no worries....

[Aviator32]

no cos im not an American either
i just happen to reside here
but there again i do not know what you said
its just one of those thread headers that get everyone looking
H

Quite.

Do you ever feel like you've turned up at the wrong party by mistake? You walk in, the music stops and everyone turns around and looks at you.

I'll back out of the room slowly and return to the main Simulator forums :blind:

[Henry]

Quite.

Do you ever feel like you've turned up at the wrong party by mistake? You walk in, the music stops and everyone turns around and looks at you.

I'll back out of the room slowly and return to the main Simulator forums :blind:
He HE!
lol
H:salute:

[Bone]

Quite.

Do you ever feel like you've turned up at the wrong party by mistake? You walk in, the music stops and everyone turns around and looks at you.

I'll back out of the room slowly and return to the main Simulator forums :blind:

No need to go. No harm, no foul.

[Wing_Z]

BS...I don't believe this is a genuine story, not for a moment.

An Australian dentist would not be able to spell "embodiment" correctly.

[Bone]

BS...I don't believe this is a genuine story, not for a moment.

An Australian dentist would not be able to spell "embodiment" correctly.

OK, that's funny. You're a master sleuth!

[Lionheart]

Thanks Bone.

Thats one awesome letter. Really makes you think.

Gives one hope.

[txnetcop]

Quite.

Do you ever feel like you've turned up at the wrong party by mistake? You walk in, the music stops and everyone turns around and looks at you.

I'll back out of the room slowly and return to the main Simulator forums :blind:

Bone said it best...no harm no foul. You thought about what you wrote and deleted it. No need to back out Here is the problem with the written word as opposed to talking. You can't see the person's face, hear the inflection in their voice or even know if there is a laugh in their voice instead of a sneer. So it is wise to police up what you write if it looks like it will come across wrong. By the way Bone...great thread!

[Stratobat]

Someone once told me that silence can always be misinterpreted, but never misquoted :salute:

I don't know why so many people get involved in political/ religious discussion around here. At the end of the day you're always going to step on someone elses toes and the end result is never a good one!

Regards,
Stratobat

[Bjoern]

They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom.

I bet I'm freer! :d

[n4gix]

This essay was not written by "an Australian dentist," but by Peter Ferrara, an associate law professor at Virginia's George Mason University. Titled "What is an American: A Primer," it was published in the National Review on September 25, 2001. The e-mail version differs from the original not only in attribution, but also contains several edits and editorial comments and omits the author's closing paragraphs.

Sources:
http://www.snopes.com/rumors/america2.asp

Original Commentary:
http://old.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-ferrara092501.shtml

[Curtis P40]

I'm not a fanatic about anything. I'm just a guy trying to get through life as best as I can, as comfortable as I can, and as trouble free as I can. So, posting something like this isn't me shouting out "Im an American, and damn proud of it!". I've travelled to alot of places in the world, and will continue to do so....because I really like the world and the cultures that go along with it. I consider myself to be a citizen of the world, as corny as that sounds.


Bone, that sums up the way I feel. I to have travel nearly three-quarters of the way around the world. Met and enjoyed many people from vastly different cultures from where I grew up. I think the world would be a boring place if we were all the same. I was born an American, but I belong to the Human Race.
Curt:kilroy:

I must confess, I am a fanatic about...aircraft

[Wing_Z]

BS...I don't believe this is a genuine story, not for a moment.
An Australian dentist would not be able to spell "embodiment" correctly.


...The e-mail version differs from the original not only in attribution, but also contains several edits and editorial comments and omits the author's closing paragraphs. ...

Now THAT sounds more like an Australian dentist!
You can see BS from a mile away.

[djscoo]

That sort of changes the tone of the story, knowing that it was written by an American. I wonder if the originator of the modified version was just watching "Finding Nemo", and figured the Australian dentist in the film seemed like a really swell guy.

[Bone]

It's nice to know who really wrote it, but for me it doesn't really change anything. I like the concept. I like what was done in the Youtube video.

A number of years ago I was reading either Time Magazine or Newsweek...I can't remember which...and the title theme of the issue was "What Will Americans Look Like In 300 years". They had a computer program that took all the races found in the US, and put them through an inter-marriage matrix over the course of 300 years. Computer generated pictures of what the average person would look like after successive inter-marriage mixes, and the end result after 300 years was quite interesting to look at.

Apart from how we are going to look, I hope we have a giant leap in intellect to go along with it.

[magoo]

An Australian dentist would not be able to spell "embodiment" correctly.
....He probably dictated it to his receptionist, who was a pretty little Canadian exchange student looking to get on with a group of hunky young American surfers who were renting across the courtyard from her digs.

English spelling wouldn't really be an issue for her, everybody knows it's a language that was invented in Canada. Perhaps that's what really makes America special, that early on folks in the United States quit speaking British, and learned English from the Canadians.

Except for Texas. And maybe New Orleans. Those are totally heterogeneous dialects all of their own.

....and to be proud of.

...Yep.

[tonybones2112]

The most dangerous enemy is one you can't incite to anger.

This saying has many variations, most notably in GODFATHER III, my uncle was his company sharpshooter and sniper and when he taught the replacement troops long range shooting with an M-1 Garand, the first thing he told them was, Never hate your enemy.

It affects your aim.

Tony Bones

[CADFather]

The most dangerous enemy is one you can't incite to anger.

This saying has many variations, most notably in GODFATHER III, my uncle was his company sharpshooter and sniper and when he taught the replacement troops long range shooting with an M-1 Garand, the first thing he told them was, Never hate your enemy.

It affects your aim.

Tony Bones

That's one of the lessons they still teach at the Army Sniper school in Korea, well at least they were 24 years ago when I attended.

CAD