http://spillwords.com/author/phyllispcolucci/
I came across this editorial on my email today, Friday 2/28/19. It's a very interesting, poignant, honest take on today's immigration vs immigration of "yesterday". I found it to be a great read and very enlightening for those who truly need and want to understand immigration, the United States and the privilege to be part of this wonderful country. Most of us come from a line of immigrants who came to this country legally - worked hard to make a life here, asked for nothing in return, fought in our wars, raised families and respected the American flag. Most of us can relate to this editorial - others will disregard it and remain ignorant by choice...Still, worth the read...Go for it!
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"IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THIS WRITER IS TELLING US YOU SHOULD BE."
"Our Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Great-Great Grandparents, etc. etc.
This was written by Rosemary LaBonte to the editors of a California newspaper in response to an article written by an Ernie Lujan, who suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the immigrants of today aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry. The paper never printed this response however, so her husband sent it out via internet.
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 very long line in New York and be documented.
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 very 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 subsidized free housing, No DACA citizenship, No labor laws to protect them. All they they had were the skills 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, Ireland, and, yes, Japan. None of these First 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 now with a new kind of immigrant, be they here legally or not, who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want it given to them but they want to live by a different set of rules, not learning the language that most Americans speak, but instead one that includes the entitlement card, while remaining faithful to their "mother" country. F___ America is a slogan of many of them!
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 they received then 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 now.
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.
KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING.
FOR THE WRONG THINGS TO PREVAIL, THE RIGHTFUL MAJORITY ONLY NEEDS TO REMAIN COMPLACENT AND QUIET.
LET THIS NEVER HAPPEN!
I sincerely hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!
I sincerely hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!
Of course the press won’t print anything that doesn’t support their socialist views. The immigrants of today aren’t being treated the same as those of yesteryear, they are treated far better. Sometimes better than our own citizens."
