Here's one perspective you don't hear often: 
This is from a Canadian newspaper, and is worth sharing.

America: The Good Neighbor. 

Widespread but only partial news coverage was given
recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto
by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator.
What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as
printed in the Congressional Record:



"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the
Americans as the most generous and possibly the least
appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and,
to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the
debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of
dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these
countries is today paying even the interest on its
remaining debts to the United States.



When the Franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956,
it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward
was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris.
I was there. I saw it.



When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United
States that hurries in to help.



This spring, 59 American communities were flattened
by tornadoes. Nobody helped.



The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped
billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now
newspapers in those countries are writing about the
decadent, Americans.



I'd like to see just one of those countries that is
gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar
build its own airplane. Does any other country in the
world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the
Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so why
don't they fly them? Why do all the international
lines except Russia fly American Planes?



Why does no other land on earth even consider
putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk
about Japanese technology, and you get radios.
You talk about German technology, and you get
automobiles. You talk about American technology, 
and you find men on the moon -not once, but
several times and safely home again.



You talk about scandals, and the Americans put
theirs right in the store window for everybody to look
at. Even their draft- dodgers are not pursued and
hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them,
unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting
American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.



When the railways of France, Germany and India were
breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt
them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York 
Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both
are still broke.



I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced
to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name
me even one time when someone else raced to the
Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside
help even during the San Francisco earthquake.



Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one
Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get
kicked around. They will come out of this thing with
their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to
thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over
their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those."



Stand proud, America! 
This is one of the best editorials that I have ever read
regarding the United States. It is nice that one man
realizes it. I only wish that the rest of the world would
realize it. We are always blamed for everything, and
never even get a thank you for the things we do.

I would hope that each of you would send this to as
many people as you can and emphasize that they
should send it to as many of their friends until this
letter is sent to every person on the web. I am just a
single American that has read this,
I SURE HOPE THAT A LOT MORE READ IT TOO.