America, The Good Neighbour Comments

Thank you so much for this, Herbert. I heard a copy of the Gordon Sinclair speech and it has been around on the internet many times since. When I grew up, patriotism was rampant. Where on earth did it go? And what happened that the very people we have helped over the years are so glad to turn against us? It is wonderful to be reminded of America's good deeds and to hear someone other than an American say these things. Well done, my friend. Raynette

I wrote a long and heartfelt response to this, which has disappeared and I can't bear to recreate it right now. It started by saying that I don't know a single person who has travelled to the US and not come back a bigger person, stunned by the hospitality and generosity, with new energy and a new can-do mentality and a more open mind...it finished by saying thank you Herbert, and hoping that PoHo's (was it?) great poem about America might appear in our PH anthology...

You really ar being too generous...but Herbert there will always be somone that does not like what you write. Look at what happened with my poem America the not so Beautiful.....If you take this off then you are doing exactly what they want. It is a truly heartfelt poem.

It is not a matter of getting over myself. It is rather a matter of how to dispose of the likes of you. HJ

My stick poem makes that point (I think) . Thanks all for the kind words. Only England/Coates voted it down. Best H

As Gordon Sinclair said in the seventies, there are no people on this earth more generous than Americans. If I conveyed that then the poem did its duty. Best H

The poem pays homage to a place that has many unique and wonderful surprising disguises. To have a non-American, as Mary says, add a dose of 'goodness' to a place that excites with controversy is all that matters to those of us 'Americans' who still believe America has greater achievements to reveal! Let's keep our fingers crossed. Needless to say, the poem 'America, The Good Neighbor' is well written and well received by those of us who appreciate 'her' complexities as Americans reflecting...all of which 'she' teaches!

America plays well a big brother role in the world. But the gun culture is no good, which dilutes the charity role it plays. Money is ofcourse needed but it alone cannot make one a big hero. It is the love and compassion to the suffering mass that takes a country to a greater height of the spiritual world. America has, no doubt, a larger heart to help the underdeveloped and poor countries. A good poem in support of America.

I really liked this poem...but you know me I tend to be slightly cynical about things. :) anyway it was a very good poem! ! !

Herbert, This is one of my favorites of yours as of yet! I'm so glad to hear somebody write about the ''good'' America has done and still does! Very well done! (And by a non-American...who'd have thought!) Sincerely, mary

Thanks, H, I pray everyone will care for everyone!