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French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s speech gave tribute to America in a Congressional event on Wednesday, November 7, 2003. His speech was well received by Congress and certainly timely as the United States prepares to honor its war veterans on Monday, November 12, 2007.
In his speech, Sarkozy told Congress: “I want to tell you something, something important. Every time, whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American Army did for France. I think of them and I am sad, as one is saddened to lose a member of one’s family. What’s made America great is her ability to transform her own dream, the American dream, into a source of hope for all of mankind. We also loved America because, for us, she embodied what was most audacious about the human adventure.”
Sarkozy continued “What was most extraordinary for us was that through your literature, your cinema, your music, it seemed to us that America always seemed to emerge ever greater and stronger from the adversity and challenges it faced,” he said.
The greatest strength of the United States was its “moral” and “spiritual” fiber. “And no-one expressed this better than a black pastor who asked just one thing of America, that she be true to the ideal in whose name he, the grandson of a slave, felt so deeply American. “His name was Martin Luther King. He made America a universal role model.”
While watching the French President’s speech, I could not help but remember another tribute to Americans written in 1973 by Canadian broadcaster Gordon Sinclair. The headlines of June 5, 1973, were similar to today’s headlines which highlight the Iraq war, a declining dollar, and economic problems with the sub prime mortgage mess. In 1973, A divided United States was in the process of ending the Vietnam War. The United States dollar was in a dramatic decline as American investments were being sold worldwide. The U.S. economy was having real difficulty. America was a like a “piñata” that was being criticized by nations in every corner of the world.
It was against this backdrop of international criticism of the United States that Canadian radio commentator Gordon Sinclair arrived at work for his daily noon broadcast on June 5, 1973. Disgusted with what he saw and heard in the media, he was outraged! The tribute to “Americans” editorial that he delivered on his hour long show broadcast throughout Canada would soon reach the streets of America.
Some of Sinclair’s remarks in the “American’s” tribute editorial are remembered as follows: “As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Who rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did. They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Mississippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.”
Sinclair continued: “Come on… let’s hear it! Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star or the Douglas 107? If so, why don’t they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on Earth even consider putting a man or women on the moon?
You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everyone to look at.”
The tape of the broadcast editorial was obtained with permission to use by a Buffalo radio station. Soon, stations from all over New York were calling to obtain a copy of the tape. The recording spread quickly throughout the entire United States. Americans wanted to obtain a copy and a recording was eventually released as a “single” record with all proceeds going to help the American Red Cross. The entire editorial would eventually be read into the Congressional record several times.
After Gordon Sinclair’s death on May 17, 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan said:” I know I speak for all Americans in saying the radio editorial Gordon wrote in 1973 praising the accomplishments of the United States was a wonderful inspiration. It was not only critics abroad who forgot this nation’s many great achievements, but even critics here at home. Gordon Sinclair reminded us to take pride in our nation’s fundamental values.”
President Reagan’s words about Gordon Sinclair were as appropriate in 1984 as they would be for French President Sarkozky’s speech in Congress today. Remembering to take pride in our nation’s fundamental values is something we should never forget.
About the Author:
James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events.
Visit his website at http://www.eworldvu.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – A Reminder of Gordon Sinclair’s Broadcast
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