- 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.
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- An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist,
or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan.
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- 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.
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- 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 person the
pursuit of happiness.
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- 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.
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- As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given
more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning
of September 11, 2002 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.
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- So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler
did. So did General Toho, 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.
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- Pass this around the World.
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- Thanks
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-
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- From Mike Nelson
12-17-2
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- The "What is an American?" article quoted above
was not penned by an Australian (or a dentist), but by Peter Ferrara, an
associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law
in Northern Virginia. Mr. Ferrara's commentary was originally published
in the National Review on 25 September 2001.
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- http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-ferrara092501.shtml
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