I'm not trying to negate the thought behind the essay - and I'm sure the sentiments are shared by many outside of the US (I've heard that friends and relatives in Germany have been as paralyzed as we are in the US.)

However - people might be interested to know the full context behind this 30 year old essay.

The story behind the original essay.
http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/ccf/news/unique/american.html

The full text of the original essay:
http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/ccf/news/unique/am_text.html

Aside from being somewhat slimmed down from its original version, the most amusing change (IMO) is how "franc" in the original changed to "France". "France" was not collapsing in 1956.