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 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.
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, 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.
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 blood thirsty 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.
Pass this around the World.