Letter to the Editor
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. 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 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
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 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 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.
(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte