The following is a KSCO commentary. Here is Kay Zwerling:
This is in honor of Memorial Day.
At a time when our President and other politicians tend to apologize for our Country’s prior actions, here is a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our Country.
They are good.
JFK’S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 1960s when DeGaule decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaule said he wanted all U.S. military out of France ASAP.
Rusk responded, “Does that include those who are buried here?”
DeGaule didn’t respond.
You could have heard a pin drop.
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 W.Bush.
He answered by saying, “Over the years, the U.S. 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 didn’t return.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
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 is because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
And finally this story fits right in with the above –
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 their 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.
Finally,
This has been floating around for a while, but it is timely and really worth repeating.
Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote was translated into English from an article appearing in the Czech Republic as published in the Plager Zeitung of April 28, 2010.
“The danger to America is not Barak Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama Presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their President.”
The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.
The republic can survive a Barak Obama, who is after all merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their President.
For KSCO, this is Kay Zwerling.
© copyright 2010
