Rockingham Remembered
Short Stories
Bounty on Americans
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 the following to let
everyone know what an
American is, so they would know when they found
one. (Good on ya, 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 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 is from 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
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. When Afghanistan was overrun
by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came
with arms and supplies to enable the people to win
back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had
given more than any other nation to the poor in
Afghanistan.

Americans welcome the best, the best products, the
best books, the best music, the best food, the best
athletes. 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. Some of
them were working in the Twin Towers the morning
of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their
families. I've been told that the World Trade Center
victims were from at least 30 other countries,
cultures, and first languages, including those that
aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must.
Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao
Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the
history of 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.

Author unknown