Immigrant Issue
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out why today's
American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrants 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.
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, 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.
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.
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.