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* To Kill an American

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. (Good on ya, mate!!!!)



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 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.



When the Soviet army overran Afghanistan 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, 2001 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.



Author unknown

that posting has a nice sentiment to it.. considering all the flack "Americans" recieve over lots of what there government does around the world. it encourages us to think about people as individuals rather than to stereotype. very nice.

i hate being judged by what my government does, i dont like or want to support them at all. but people are literally out to kill me simple because i live in this country, and i do like it here all but the govt. bush is a bumbling idiot that should have no power over anything, if terrorist want to attack him go for it id lend a hand but to attack random people makes no sense at all. i herd a rumor that theres going to be alot of school shootings here soon in bigger citys. why kill innocent kids just to punish the president who doesnt care anyways.

iwannadie wrote:i hate being judged by what my government does, i dont like or want to support them at all. but people are literally out to kill me simple because i live in this country, and i do like it here all but the govt. bush is a bumbling idiot that should have no power over anything, if terrorist want to attack him go for it id lend a hand but to attack random people makes no sense at all. i herd a rumor that theres going to be alot of school shootings here soon in bigger citys. why kill innocent kids just to punish the president who doesnt care anyways.

Thats a joke, right?

Your either very ill informed or your very ill.

Thanks for the post Chels. First rate!

iwannadie wrote:bush is a bumbling idiot that should have no power over anything, if terrorist want to attack him go for it id lend a hand

It would seem your anger is misdirected, iwannadie. I would think you would be more resentful toward those of us who elected the man, including myself. I suppose after admitting that fact, I'm now included on your hit list.

Yep.. two people at odds, just like to countries. World politics is complicated schtuff... so many levels of "purpose" and "intention" and "reality" --- ultimately governments need to make choices, and take actions... focus on a plan and put it to work... otherwise indecision can make for a whole slew of new problems. Lots of the time it's hard to know how things will turn out in 10 minutes or 10 years. We have to TRY something... and if it doesn't work out, it can be hard to go back.

Thinking myself personally about how this can happen between two people who have differeing perspectives and end up being at odds, it snowballs... we stop listening, responding, caring, helping... fear can taint our thoughts... micommunication turns into childish feuding... we really hurt people without even thinking about it sometimes... thinking they might hurt us... then we hit them first... we spread untruths, we assume the worst, etc... someone recently said to me "gotta prepare for the worst case scenario" and i thought "why? the worst case is VERY unlikely to happen".. we need a more positive outlook... we gotta merely realize most things are just a bump in the road and the motorcycling solution is akin to upgrading our suspension, maybe alter our speed, etc..." --> small changes make the biggest differences.

You can have 90% of the puzzle in the palm of your hand and still fail because you are missing the 10% which is the real key to understanding. There is no reason to throw it all away and start over... people seem to do this with relationships too... sometimes we don't concede the little things when we meet someone who shares so many of our core values... the IMPORTANT stuff that binds people together. Somehow when we get almost everything we need from one person, we seem to demand even more... we want it all from one source, when really there are friends everywhere to share all the parts of who we are... being able to share 90% of who you are with one person is almost a bloody miracle. not sure why we become so infelxible about finding everything in one-stop... is the Wal-Mart mentality the same mentality ingrained in the core of our relationships to find one person to have it all?? (tee hee) like we hope to have it all in one stop... that we can be assured it will be "perfect" and "easy" ... rather than realize we are "blessed" to have been met by someone or some sitaution who is amazing and workable.

-- oops! relationship philosophy on the fly again

As much as America is known for forcing it's agenda/policies and such upon others, they do have some legitimate reasons, but not always the best solutions (like ALL of us)...

sometimes it's good to remember that people are trying to help out, even if they mess up... our intention can be a better indicator of friendship than actions at times... as long as people are speaking the truth with there intentions, and of course that is a trickier thing to know... but in time we can see the truth behind people, if we look openly.

Also I feel it's good to remember that the USA has helped out many countries throughout history. Right now there economy is failing a little and like any sluggish business, our morals are put the the test in the worst times... we skew our perspective a little working to get out of trouble... from some of what i percieve in the USA today, they're going to need to remind a lot more people of the good that they have done for others throughout history, rather than have the world focused on some unfortunate events they have been involved in.

There seems to always be a love/hate thing with the USA ... they just need to find a balance ... love sometimes becomes lust, and hate sometimes becomes war... and I am sure the imbalance in the actions of the govmnt as of late, can be offset by the actions of the populace. As the recent election shows, much of America is divided at present... a little too far out of balance...

the world will right itself, and slowly is less stressful than too fast.

keep the peace.

//mon-key

Nice post, Chels.

It renewed a bit my my patriotic pride. And Poppy, I voted as you did. As our UK friends are wont to say, "Good on ya".

iwannadie wrote:i hate being judged by what my government does, i dont like or want to support them at all. but people are literally out to kill me simple because i live in this country, and i do like it here all but the govt. bush is a bumbling idiot that should have no power over anything, if terrorist want to attack him go for it id lend a hand but to attack random people makes no sense at all. i herd a rumor that theres going to be alot of school shootings here soon in bigger citys. why kill innocent kids just to punish the president who doesnt care anyways.

I've seen a fair share of your postings all around the TMW boards..

Man, what jaded you so bad?

I didn't vote for our current president and I do think he has made some grievous errors but I do have a (somewhat wavering) support for the system that chose him. And I certainly wouldn't assassinate him or support those who would.

Nice post Chels.