Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.
Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented.
Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times.
They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.
Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought alongside men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan.
None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.
When we liberated France, no one in those villages was looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country.
Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were.
It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country.
I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(Signed)
Rosemary LaBonte
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Very good point, today's immigrants are given everything and work is the lowest priority for many. While some want a better life, many reap the benefits of the working class (welfare, no taxes, social security etc)to only find the working class being exploited for everything the government can (over taxed etc). A sad state of affairs the USA has become.
ReplyDeleteWe can use the same argument that the leftists use for gun control-how the Founders never anticipated assault weapons and all that stuff.
ReplyDeleteWith that thought in mind it wasn't anticipated that muslim jihadist terrorists would have stood to fight their 'holy wars' in this country but now due to the internet, easy international travel and the availability of bomb making material things have changed.
Close the borders and if they cross, shoot them. No more immigration. If you were born in Nigeria, Germany, Haiti, France,
ReplyDeletewherever, stay there, and we can start with sending the one in our white house, back to wherever he thinks he's from, and I don't mean Chicago either. He wants to act like a king or a dictator, go to a country that the people will get out in the street and dance for you, but get out of our White House. Yes, I am angry, angry at Americans that cannot see beyond the end of their nose and put such a corrupt person in the white house to start with and then turn around and do it again. If times get tough and your food stamps and feebies end, don't complain, you did it to yourself.
Reading this post reminds me of what we were actually taught by our public/government schools and our parents, neighbors, and relatives.
ReplyDeleteIt points out how far we have drifted from "truth". Lies are being taught in the govermnent schools now and unfortunately the younger generaltions don't know their true history. This is why we have so many "livs" (low info voters).
We must try to continue to spread the truth whenever we can to whomever we can.
Rosemary LaBonte forgot one thing. This country didn't start in the 1900's. She forgot about a group of people who came here by force and how they were force to work for nothing in the 1800's. Or how the original settlers along with columbus deceived the real natives of this country.
ReplyDelete4:34.....THAT is what is being taught in schools across the nation now. Nothing about our greatness, or how we freed ourselves from the yoke of oppression, or how we saved the whole world TWICE (!), or why people came here in the first place. NO. Its all about guilt over what someone did 150 years ago, how badly we have treated the rest of the world, the bad men who used cheap labor to build railroads, bridges, and roads. Did I mention slavery? We will never get over that. Even after spending TRILLIONS of dollars to make it right. 500 years from now, we will be told how slavery still has lingering effects and only more benefits and money can begin to ease our guilt. But it will never be completely assuaged.
ReplyDeleteWow. People who think that our sovereignity and laws actually mean something are "racist rednecks"? UNBELIEVABLE. That the laws regarding entrance and citizenship are racist roadblocks holding people down? If your country isn't what you like, change it. Don't sneak into THIS country and then claim its your RIGHT to be here and we must now feed you, give you official documents, and just forget that the very first thing you did in coming here was BREAK THE LAW? I wonder if you would turn into a "racist redneck" if you came home one day and there were six people living in your upstairs bedrooms because, you know, they just want a better place to live, and would "do anything" to "feed their family"? You serving 'em dinner tonight? Lettin' 'em use your car? Paying the added dollars on your electric bill without complaint? I, and many others, would much prefer to be called "racist rednecks" than brain dead apologists for people who KNOW what they do is illegal and have no respect for OUR law. Why don't you try going to Mexico or Guatamala and sticking around without a visa or proper permission. Call me from prison, because that's where you'll be. Our unique stature and position in the world does not --- does not! --- negate our laws or make them any less important than other countries. I want a better life, too. With that being said, I suppose I should roll into the Hamptons and pick a mansion I like, because I DESERVE it? And merely want something better for me and my family? Your logic is pious and naive, but more than that, half-assed and insidious...
ReplyDelete