On the Brighter Side

Good day everyone,

There has been a lot of debate over immigration into this country over the last couple of years. Even those of us that were born here and have not been directly touched by either knowing someone who wanted to become a citizen or have understood the impact that a growing population causes on our communities and resources have had very strong opinions.

Some hold to the belief that our shores and borders should be sealed tight from any additional immigration, while others feel that the door to the new world should remain open and that the laws of supply and demand should be the valve that controls the flow of the population. There is a large group that feel that a quota system or some type of filtering should determine who gets to enter the United States. There are people who want the controls to only let in people that will work for pennies and to kick those same people out when they have to resort to illegal practices to feed their families.

No one individual will ever be able to determine what type of controls need to be in place, it is way too complex for some set of rules to be implemented and work for every situation. I certainly have mixed emotions about immigration and I would not want to be the person guarding the gate, deciding who enters and who has to turn back.

On the Bright Side

Betty and I spent some time at Ellis Island, after touring The Statue of Liberty, and as we were the first time we came here, we stood in awe at the story of the immigrants that came to live the dream.

Some left families behind to venture into the unknown word. They took what they could carry and payed their way with their last savings. Even back then there were rules and filters and even some biased individuals that got to decide who got the chance to try a new life and who had to travel back to their homeland and return to whatever it was that they were trying to escape from.

There is a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty that was written as a sonnet to help raise funds to build the base of the statue. It holds a familiar line, that most of us have heard, but it also holds a promise to all the people of the world, and it is that reason that I chose it as the quote for this bright side.

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, 1883

Whatever your belief in the immigration laws, it is indisputable that we are all decedents from immigrants. For no man can say that his entire ancestry has come from, and stayed in one place.

The promise of the Statue of Liberty is the promise to be always welcoming to those that yearn for freedom. A promise to allow people to live a dream, to find their happiness, to build their fortunes, whether in wealth or love or in peace. The promise to allow each human being to be able to.........always look on the bright side of life.

Live your dream, for others have struggled to provide you with the opportunity.
Robert