GlassMan
Pisces
HDF Silver Supporter
Redondo Crew
  
Redondo Beach, California, USA
Posts: 5,761
APPD 0.73
Post Rank: 13
|
 |
Posted: Nov. 16 2006,10:05 pm |
Post # 1 |
   |
I get alot of email....too much in fact.. 
I delete more than I read....I read this one though:
New Immigrants
From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC
Register which, of course, was not printed So, I decided to "print" it
myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so
inclined.
Dave LaBonte (signed)
Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange
County Register:
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 Statue 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 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.
(signed) Rosemary LaBonte
It's a fact of Life:
After Monday and Tuesday, even the Calendar says : WTF .......
|
12-24-2025 Three Word Post.....The Next Generation.... (Rep.#20,034) from: GoFastRacer
I guess I'd better open it up. 