What is an American

[philly]

Subject: What is 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.

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.

I've seen a similar writing like this one before. It's a nice gesture all the same...