Post by saddletramp on Mar 6, 2009 14:15:29 GMT -6
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. 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. Luja n 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 i n 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 oneculture. 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 knewwhat it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2008 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=2 0toil, 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 thos e
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
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. 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. Luja n 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 i n 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 oneculture. 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 knewwhat it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2008 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=2 0toil, 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 thos e
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