This showed up in my mail with the "pass it on if you are proud to be an American". Having Bush named in it prominently made me reflect on how we heard from celebrities that they wanted to leave the country when Bush was elected, how little actual policy difference there was between Bush and Clinton, and how few folks from the right you hear talking about leaving the country now.
I suspect that the pride in America for most on the right has not changed much, since HISTORY has meaning in our constrained vision. For those on the left, "today is what counts" -- the mere election of Bush was outside of their vision and something that caused them to question that vision. For those of us that are of the constrained vision, a country picking BO is all too understandable. We see human nature as a constant, so the selection of leadership that operates against the very values of America is no surprise at all.
I suspect that Snopes or somebody has found things to say this is "apocryphal" (like "myth") ... well, so be it. This is the sort of America that I believe in.
We just elected a complete hoax to be president -- I'm guessing none of the "fact checking" sites will bother to point that out!
On to the "Pin Drops"
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.
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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 came back into the room saying '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 intended 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 can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they 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.
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A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English,Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but 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 Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
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AND
Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. "You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready." The American said, ''The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."
"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !" The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."You could have heard a pin drop.
If you are proud to be an American, pass this on!
