The following was said to be written by a dentist in Australia.
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 I
just thought I would write to let them know what an American is, so they
would know when they found one.
An American is English, French, Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish,
Russian or Greek. An American may also be Mexican, African, Indian,
Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, 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, 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. The best products, the best books, the best music, the
best food, the best athletes.
Americans welcome the best, but they also welcome the least. The national
symbol of America 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 in the morning of September 11, earning a better life for their
families. [I've been told that the people in the Towers were from at
least 30, and maybe many more, 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.
So look around you. You may find more Americans in your land than you
thought were there. One day they will rise up and overthrow the old,
ignorant, tired tyrants that trouble too many lands. Then those lands,
too, will join the community of free and prosperous nations. And America
will welcome them!