Column: Remember how others see U.S.

During this holiday season, when we think about peace on earth and goodwill toward all men (and women) after a particularly trying presidential election, I was reminded of what's right about America. Although many of us political columnists tend to be curmudgeonly critics of our country and its institutions, it's always instructive to be reminded of how others see us.

I received such a reminder last week when one of my tennis buddies e-mailed me the text of a broadcast editorial by Canadian journalist Gordon Sinclair. Titled "The Good Neighbor," Sinclair's editorial praises 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 . . ." he wrote. "None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States. (And) when the (French) 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." Strong stuff, but Sinclair makes a valid point: the U.S. Marshall Plan saved Europe after the Nazi destruction of World War II, which I hope they're teaching in Carson City schools.

And what about those of us who were wringing our hands about our messy election process? "You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at," Sinclair declared. He has another valid point there because when we had an election problem last month, we argued about it in public and the U.S. Supreme Court finally resolved it in accordance with the Constitution. Had such a problem occurred in almost any other country, there would have been revolutionary mobs and/or tanks in the streets. Here, the closest we came to that was when Jesse Jackson's rent-a-mobs followed the TV cameras to Florida.

If you've ever seen tanks in the streets, as I did in Madrid, Spain in the early 1980s, you never forget the experience, and you thank God that you're an American. We had our little joke in the U.S. embassies where I worked for nearly 30 years. No matter what disaster befell the local populace, they reacted by marching against the American Embassy carrying signs that read, "Yankee Go Home! . . . and take me with you." Every time I saw angry mobs outside our embassy, I knew that long lines of U.S. visa applicants would show up the next morning, demonstrating our love-hate relationship with most of the rest of the world.

"I can name you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble," Sinclair wrote. "Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble?" Good question and no, I can't. Just the other day, while at Carson's First Presbyterian Church for the funeral of my late friend, Dr. Richard "Doc" Grundy, I learned about that church's ongoing support of a children's home near Tijuana, Mexico. Such small but significant examples of American generosity abound here, and throughout the United States. And it's not just monetary assistance either; wherever there is pain and suffering, open-hearted Americans are to be found on the front lines, motivated by nothing more than a desire to help those in need.

David K. Shipler, son of the late, great Nevada journalist Guy Shipler (whom I replaced on this page four years ago), discussed the "myths" of American democracy in the Washington Post last week. "The myths of our democracy are not delusions," he wrote. "They may be just part of the truth, or embellishments of an inner reality in our culture's creed. But . . . the myths have power, because they celebrate the powerful idea that government belongs to the people . . ."

"The American myths have been difficult to explain in other countries where I've lived," he continued, "because their vitality depends on something intangible - not just on free speech or the separation of powers, but also on our sense of our system as a moral enterprise. . . . We can be scrappy and contentious without trying to destroy those who disagree with us." Like his father before him, David Shipler writes convincingly about morality in government and the need to respect our political adversaries.

I felt optimistic, even proud, of our country last Tuesday as I watched President Clinton swallow his pride to welcome President-elect George W. Bush to the White House. This ability to come together for the good of the nation after a hard-fought battle is what distinguishes us from so much of the rest of the world. As Gordon Sinclair observed, I know because I've been there.

Well, even though I know some of you are uncomfortable with such flagrant flag-waving, I think it's worthwhile to consider what's right with America as we approach another New Year with hope in our hearts and good wishes for our next president and his administration. He'll need all the help he can get in order to navigate safely through the troubled waters of a deteriorating economy and a dangerous world. Merry Christmas!

Guy W. Farmer, a semi-retired journalist and former U.S. diplomat, resides in Carson City.