The following was forwarded to me and I just wanted to share it! That's the nice thing about a blog.
Hearing the Pin Drop
At a time when our president
and other politicians
tend to apologize
for our country's prior actions,
here's a refresher
on how some of our former patriots handled
negative comments about our country.
* * * * *
When in England ,
at a fairly large conference,
Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury
if our plans for Iraq were just an example
of 'empire building' by George Bush.
He answered by saying,
"Over the years, the United States
has sent many of its fine young men and women
into great peril to fight
for freedom beyond our borders.
The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return
is enough to bury those
that did not return."
You could have heard a pin drop.
JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk,
was in France in the early 60's
when DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO.
DeGaulle said
he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.
Rusk responded,
"Does that include those who are buried here?"
DeGaulle did not respond.
You could have heard a pin drop.
There was a conference in France,
where a number of international engineers were taking part,
including French and American.
During a break, one of the French engineers said,
"Have you heard
the latest dumb stunt Bush has done?
He has sent
an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims.
What does he intend to do,
bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly:
"Our carriers have
three hospitals on board
that can treat several hundred people;
they are nuclear powered and
supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities;
they have three cafeterias
can feed thousands of people three meals a day;
they produce several thousand
gallons of fresh water from sea water each day;
and they also carry half a dozen helicopters
for use in transporting victims and injured
to and from their flight deck.
We have
eleven such ships;
how many does France have?"
You could have heard a pin drop.
A U.S. Navy Admiral
was attending a naval conference that also included Admirals
from Great Britain, Canada, Australia and France.
At a cocktail reception,
everyone was chatting away in English
as they sipped their drinks
when a French admiral suddenly complained that,
whereas Europeans learn many languages,
Americans learn only English.
He then asked,
"Why is it that we always
have to speak English in these conferences
rather than speaking French?"
Without hesitating,
the American Admiral replied,
"Maybe it's because
the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans
arranged it
so you wouldn't have to speak German."
You could have heard a pin drop.
I am proud to be of this land we call AMERICA.
If your're proud to be an American,
go ahead,
feel free pass this on!
