By Bill O’Reilly
A recent poll taken in Canada says that 40 percent of Canadian
teenagers believe the United States is an
”
evil
”
country. Among
French-Canadian teens, the number rises to 64 percent. This is,
of course, hard to believe and must be laid right on the doorstep
of the often viciously anti-American Canadian press, as well as
irresponsible educators supposedly teaching Canadian kids about the
world.
By Bill O’Reilly
A recent poll taken in Canada says that 40 percent of Canadian teenagers believe the United States is an “evil” country. Among French-Canadian teens, the number rises to 64 percent. This is, of course, hard to believe and must be laid right on the doorstep of the often viciously anti-American Canadian press, as well as irresponsible educators supposedly teaching Canadian kids about the world.
And all over the world, America is getting slaughtered in the arena of public opinion. Therefore, what can we expect from children? When government-funded press agencies like the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation portray America as the world’s chief villain, there’s little anyone can do to balance the picture. The Fox News Channel, for example, isn’t even allowed in Canada.
So for the benefit of the Canadian kids and, indeed, children all over the world, I am going to set the record straight right here in this column. Let’s start with an undeniable fact: The United States of America has set more people free than any other country in the history of mankind. We all know about World War II, but here’s what’s happened recently:
• In Eastern Europe, the policies of Ronald Reagan led to the freeing of at least 122 million people from Soviet domination.
• More than 48 million South Koreans remain free because of American protection.
• Nearly 23 million Taiwanese remain free because of American protection.
• The state of Israel and 5.5 million Jews would be crushed by its enemies if not for American aid.
• By removing the brutal regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, America and Britain have given almost 50 million people at least a shot at some kind of self-determination. Also, the American-driven campaign against the butcher Milosevic in the Balkans saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, most of them Muslims.
• America is sending $3 billion a year to Africa to combat the AIDS epidemic. By comparison, Canada is sending $270 million, France a paltry $60 million.
And those countries have the nerve to portray America as a villain? How many human beings has France freed over the past 60 years? The same question can be asked of Canada. Yes, those nations have helped the USA on occasion, but they are drifting away from reality.
The truth is that America is a great country striving to protect itself in an ungrateful and dangerous world.
Veteran TV news anchor Bill O’Reilly is host of the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor.”
