Ellis Island

Maybe we  should turn to our history books and point out  to people like Mr. Lujan why today's America  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 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 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, 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.

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..