THE AMERICANS
Who Are They, And How Did They Get This Way?
By Gene Griessman  ©2003
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Who is an American?

(When the war in Iraq began, newspapers carried the report of someone in Pakistan who had offered a reward to anyone who killed an American.  An Australian dentist wrote the response below.
We received this excellent response from a friend on the Internet.  If you know the identity of the author, please let us know so that we can give proper recognition. Ed.)

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 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.

Index to all pages
Elmo and Will on war, American politics, and the American dream
Time Management:  How To Create A Time-Effective Organization
American Chauvinism
Abraham Lincoln: quotes
More About Abraham Lincoln: Resources For Further Study
Is George W. Bush the next Abraham Lincoln?  Lincoln-Bush compared
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt quotes and commentary on leadership style
The Lincoln-Roosevelt Connection
War quotes
Ronald Reagan quotes; exclusive interview: his big break
"The Diversity Creed"; Why I Wrote "The Diversity Creed"
Remarkable Similarities Between President Abraham Lincoln And  Benjamin Franklin
Civil War Quotes: U.S. Grant's Leadership Style
How To Do Business With Americans:  Forgive Their Blunders

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