Today’s immigrants not like those before

The Island Now

I would like to respond to the July 6, 2012 NHP Herald Courier’s  article entitled “Not Our Problem.”  I, for one, do not hide behind any “mask of patriotism” and I am in good company when I say that.  

Your article makes mention, the immortal words inscribed at the Base of the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”   

Yes, we have all benefited by these words, in one way or another. 

 Your article also mention that the baby boomers, of which I am one, will remember the words of President JFK, who launched the Peace Corps in 1961, and you refer to the words in his inaugural address:  “And so, my fellow Americans:  ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country…”  Hmm…it looks to me that JFK believed in the strength and determination of  the spirit of the people,  but that is not the message we’re receiving from our current President.

I would like to point out what a different Democratic Party we have today.  Our current president likes to promote the idea “we do for you, what we can do better” and look where that credo has left us!  Our current president does not believe as much in the will and spirit of the people, as he does in the government’s ability.  And this is to our dismay, in my opinion. 

But let’s be clear.  What we’re dealing with today is a new brand of immigrant.  Those of us who are children and descendants of immigrants truly appreciate the sacrifice made for a better life.  Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people 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 goodbye to their birthplace 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.  Many of our fathers fought alongside men and women whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan.  None of these first-generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents came 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 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.

 It is important to keep in mind that “for the wrong things to prevail, the rightful majority needs to remain complacent and quiet.”  

I hope we will remain vigilant, speak out, and  never let this happen in our great nation.  God Bless America!

 Rosanne T. Spinner

New Hyde Park

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