downtownv
06-06-2013, 06:58 PM
I received this email thought it apropos for D Day!
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 goodbye 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 were looking for
the French American, 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.
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 goodbye 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 were looking for
the French American, 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.