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Emma Lazarus dedicated this poem to the Statue of Liberty on November 2,
1883
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
We’ve failed to live up to its vision ever since. First, as our economy
shifted from agriculture to industry, millions of Europeans were
attracted. Those from western Europe gained relatively easy acceptance
(except for the Irish), but then, as new seemingly stranger cultures
from Italy and eastern Europe came, the road became more rocky. During
the first half of the 20th century Asians found it especially difficult.
And now, Hispanics, our neighbors to the south, are bearing the slings
and arrows of inequity.
As Zulma has pointed out, legislation (HR 4437) is pending, aimed at
stemming the tide of illegals. The code words for the rationale are
“terrorist threats”, but in actuality it’s just another wave of bigotry
that follows that which earlier was aimed at Irish, Italians, Poles,
Slavs, Chinese, and anyone else that carried distinct differences in
their languages, traditions, and images.
We say we’re a nation that is the embodiment of cultural diversity; yet,
there are those among us who still fear the threat of change. But change
is already upon us, like a tsunami of new and different ideas. We need
to accept it and work to assimilate those within our society, knowing
that in the long run we will be richer economically, culturally, and
spiritually as a result, just as we are from the contributions of the
Irish, Poles, Italians, Chinese and all the rest who are with us today.
We do need changes in our immigration laws. But those changes should aim
not at keeping potentially valuable contributors out; rather we need to
welcome those who want to work and add to our total richness. Some will
come permanently; some will be here temporarily. With the technological
tools available today we should be able to keep out the few who would do
us harm.
Let’s look at another document that also holds the embodiment of what we
should be all about, the Preamble to the Constitution: These are the
important words: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a
MORE PERFECT UNION . . . “ No, we are not perfect, far from it. But we
have pledged to move in that direction. Does HR 4437 move us closer to
perfection? History tells us it does not.
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