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 Statute 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 along side 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 were 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 in 2006 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 Statute 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