To Kill an American

Date: 9/11/2006

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 an editorial

the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they

found one. (Good one, 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 Comanche, 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 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, never asking a thing in return.

When Afghanistan was

over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!



Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books,

the best music, the best food, the best services.

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.



So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants

in 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.



Sincerely,



Chris & Dan Buendo

Grateful Co-Publishers