The Statue of Liberty
The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads:
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-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
That poem was written in 1883. Somehow, in the last 100 or so years, we have forgotten this creed. We have forgotten that people are not defined by their genders, their skin color, their religion, or their country of origin.
The promise of America is, was, and will always be of a golden door. A door to opportunity, freedom, liberty. What troubles me is that we have had these discussions and fights before.
How many times must we stand up and demand for equal treatment of women, African-Americans, or Asian-Americans? How many Jews or Muslims must be disparaged before the message is heard?
When you attack one of us, you attack all of us.
What I am saying should not shock you: Our entire country was founded on protest. Every signer of the Declaration of Independence was born a British subject. And until Martin Van Buren, our 8th President, we did not have a natural-born U.S. citizen as President.
For 200 years, the United States has been synonymous with immigration. Even when you utter the word “America”, remember that North and South America inherited their names from Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
We cannot be deluded into thinking American values are “under attack” by foreigners or immigrants or refugees. Our values can only be destroyed by those Americans who turn their back on this country’s history.
If we must go through this turmoil again, so be it. I am here to discuss. And I am here to fight.
