John Gavin Quotes
We do have every interest in maintaining the friendliest possible relations with Mexicans from all legitimate political walks of life.
Meislin, Richard J. "Gavin, As Envoy to Mexico, Is Stirring Up Storms." The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 1 May 1983, p. 14.
There is one condition for us to have healthy relations with the United States. It's called respect.
This is an old and critical concept in American relations with the rest of the hemisphere which Simon Bolivar used to refer to as “respecto.” Americans tend to be relatively unconcerned by what other nations think of America, and since the US has been so successful, it has developed a strong national ego. Other nations, not so successful in modern times, tend to place a great deal of importance on the notion of respect. It is a major factor in most of the world.
This letter to the Pasha (ruler) of Tripoli was contained in the original Arabic text of the American treaty with Tripoli in 1796. The letter was found between articles 10 and 12 with the eleventh article, as it appears in the English version by Joel Barlow, not included. Interestingly, the eleventh article of the Treaty of Tripoli has been the subject of attention in the debate over the separation of Church and State in America, see Barlow. The article’s lack of inclusion in the original version of the treaty is still a mystery.
Although, on sever occasions Mao tried to reach out to the United States, the fact that he was leading a communist movement and Chiang Kai-shek, our recognized ruler of China hated Mao caused his overtures to be rebuffed. American military leaders knew very little about China and our intelligence was almost non-existent. They assumed that he was under the control of Russia and Joseph Stalin when in fact, the Russians wanted to oust Mao for not following Stalin’s communist orthodoxy. They succeeded in firing him as head of the party and replacing him with a committee of more loyal communists. Not only did the US rebuff Mau’s outreach attempts, but American money and military material financed 6 different military campaigns by Chiang to exterminate Mao and his communists.
None succeeded as the vast majority of the peasants supported Mao and his troops and provided support and information in Chiang’s attempts. Some historians believe we “bet on the wrong horse”.
John Gavin was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). He was best known for his performances in the films Imitation of Life (1959), Spartacus (1960), Psycho (1960), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), playing leading roles in a series of films for producer Ross Hunter.
