House of Wolfsberg ~ Agora

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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 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 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 2007 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