Several dozen copies of an editorial by Canadian “television commentator” Gordon Sinclair were sent to The Salt Lake Tribune in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Those who sent copies of the editorial — which flew across the Internet — urged the paper to print it because, as one person wrote, “I am deeply moved by the response of our good friends in Canada; please share it with your readers.”
While it is true that Prime Minister Jean Chretien has said Canada and the United States are “united in efforts to fight terrorism” — and The Tribune has received a handful of letters from Canadians expressing sympathy in our time of grief — Sinclair’s commentary was not in response to the horrors of Sept. 11.
According to Reuters News Service, those words of praise for the United States were spoken nearly 30 years ago by Sinclair, a Canadian radio broadcaster who wrote and read the commentary on June 5, 1973, as America pulled out of the Vietnam War. Sinclair died in 1984 at the age of 84.
Yet many people, believing it was penned after Sept. 11, found comfort in the words and sent copies to newspapers across the country.
Canadian broadcast journalist Betty Kennedy, who was a friend of Sinclair’s, told Reuters he wrote the radio speech in response not only to the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, but also about reports that the American Red Cross was on the verge of bankruptcy. Kennedy said she believed the transcript resurfaced because it spoke well of the American people.
“It was so warm-hearted . . . At a time of terrible trouble . . . they [American] probably need to remember that.”
An Internet biography of Sinclair said his greatest achievement was that 10-minute broadcast of June 5, 1973, when he offered a tribute to the United States from a Canadian perspective. The commentary has been read into the Congressional Record on several occasions. For those interesting in reading “The Americas,” you can find it via an Internet search for “Gordon Sinclair” or visit your local library.
Please Return Feature: For the past few weeks, dispatches from Sea Trek 2001 — the 59-day voyage of ships from Europe to the United States commemorating 19th century Mormon emigration — have been placed on Page A2. To accommodate these accounts, a medical feature under the heading “Findings” was displaced. Several readers asked editors to reconsider that decision. These folks have some interest in the health sciences and medical studies.
One reader told how he clips and sends the feature to a son in medical school. He opined that Sea Trek was more suited for the Religion section. Another urged editors to find space for all “Findings” that have not been published.
Tribune desk editors search the wire services each day for medical and science-related articles for that feature. They say readers have not missed any significant scientific studies because news about medical research are being published in other parts of the A section.
Help Readers Understand: Reader Marla Jensen asked The Tribune to provide information or a special insert to help readers better understand the religious and political beliefs of the countries in the Middle East.
“The past has shown that the more people understand the history and beliefs of those we deal with, the better they will understand the decisions of our president and what they are reading in the paper and hearing on the news,” she said.
A search of the paper’s archives turned up numerous stories about the Middle East for this year alone. Sadly, a majority of those had to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Tribune’s Religion section also has told readers about Islam and Utah’s Muslim community. And on Sept. 22, religion writer Peggy Fletcher Stack provided an excellent report about the interpretation or meaning of “jihad” — a word we are hearing quite often now.
The Tribune will be provide readers with as much information as it can while the campaign against terrorism unfolds. But a newspaper can only go so far as an educational tool. People also need to do their part by reading a variety of news sources so that they can become well-informed citizens.
Where’s Molly? Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins has not been displaced from The Tribune. Ivins has been on vacation for the month of September.
