Celebrating Our Immigrant Heritage
June 4, 2008
W.O.P. – It’s descriptive of an earlier derogatory attitude. It’s offensive. Still, many of our ancestors came to America in just that state– With Out Papers. As we celebrate our 232nd national birthday this year, let’s not forget that we are a nation of immigrants. Most of our families, in their turn, faced discrimination. Today we have, so the estimates say, more than 13MM illegal immigrants. Many of them work hard, work cheaply and still manage to send money home to their families who are able to live a better life because of it. Many also do jobs our children and fellow citizens won’t do, or really don’t want to do. Some are second generation, or more, and contribute quietly to our society in ways we can’t measure simply because they are operating below the radar.
I travel to New York frequently and drive where I can see the Statue of Liberty http://www.nps.gov/stli/, and Ellis Island where many first landed. It is really magnificent.
At Lady Liberty’s base is an inscription citing a poem by American poet Emma Lazarus, which ends with the statue herself speaking: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” Her invitation, and the accomplishments of those who have accepted it, has made ours a great nation. What are you doing to keep the lamp lit and the door open?
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