The Americans (commentary)

The Americans is a legendary commentary by Canada broadcaster Gordon Sinclair. Originally written for a regular broadcast on CFRB radio in Toronto on June 5, 1973, it became a media and public phenomenon, replayed several times a day by some United States radio stations, released as a hit audio recording in several forms, credited by Ronald Reagan for giving comfort to the United States when it needed a friend, and widely rediscovered and redisseminated as the United States faced new crises in the 2000s.

On June 5, Sinclair discussed some stories from the day s news. Widespread heavy tornado damage afflicted the Midwestern United States. The Mississippi River was in flood. The American Red Cross faced an imminent threat of insolvency. And the United States dollar reached very low levels, something Sinclair, an inveterate market watcher, was keenly aware of.

The Americans was not, as widely reported later, an angry response to countries that were criticizing the American failure in the Vietnam War. Sinclair pointed out that when many countries faced economic crises or natural disasters, Americans were among the most generous people in the world at offering assistance, but when America faced a crisis, it often faced that crisis alone.

His editorial became a phenomenon on American radio, and was even released on record in several forms, with all profits going to the American Red Cross. A version recorded by CKLW reporter Byron MacGregor was the biggest seller. In 1981, when Ronald Reagan made his first state visit to Canada, he praised Sinclair as a figure who had given the United States a wonderful and inspiring tribute in one of its darkest hours.

The Americans was widely revived on the Internet, on radio and in newspapers in 2001, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and again in 2005 in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some revivals of the message incorrectly state that it was newly written as a direct response to recent crises; in this question of its authorship alone, the address has become a part of urban legend.

=External links=

*[http://www.cfrb.com/content/cfrb_information/archives/archives_americans.asp The Americans], CFRB archive site including history, original script, and audio of the original broadcast *[http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/sinclair.asp The Americans Urban Legend Reference Page] (Urban Legends Reference Pages)