Only a few days ago, we celebrated the birth of the United States of America. If my calculations are accurate (which they are occasionally not) our nation is officially 247 years old. Between the dash of time from 1776 to 2023, so much has taken place – some for the better and some for the worse. Our nation and culture have always consisted of ethnic diversity from its conception. It has slowly experienced a metamorphosis of political, social, religious, and demographic shifts. As stated, not all of these paradigm shifts have been constructive and consistent with what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they originally devised the foundational documents like the Declaration of Independence,
The Constitution of the United States, The Bill of Rights, and etc. However, in spite of the negatives that have been a historical element of America from the beginning (that cannot be glossed over or redacted by revisionist and others who deny the facts of history), America is still the land of opportunity and the best place to live on the face of the earth. America is unlike most communist and socialist countries that are led by autocrats and dictators who oppress and suppress their citizens with strong arm policies and tactics. These countries limit and censor basic human rights and shower privileges, conveniences, and freedoms (that Americans too often take for granted) to only the political and military elite.
America leads the nations in the category of immigrants and people who are trying to enter, whether legally or illegally. With all of our failings, flaws, and faults, it must be attributed to what is right about America that we have not built walls and barriers to keep people fenced in or from leaving. The opposite is the case! The primary reason why we have a problem, or should I say, a perplexity at our southern borders (that will only increase in scope, size, and severity) is exacerbated by two factors. First, by the fact that America is still the land of opportunity, liberty, and political stability. Secondly, these immigrants are being motivated by some human desires and necessities that are common in people all over the world. These were the longings that motivated the Pilgrims and Puritans to America before we became a nation. These were the longings that drove over 13 million White Europeans across the Atlantic Ocean to be welcomed to America by the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island.
It is an undeniable fact that we have a serious problem at our southern borders with immigrants who are desperate to enter America in their flight from political oppression, gang violence, and abject poverty. Prayerfully, the “powers that be” will not forget that the overwhelming majority of their ancestors migrated to America under similar, suppressing, and stifling conditions. For certain, I am in the number of those who acknowledges the problem we are facing at our southern borders and that it is an emergency that requires urgent and immediate fixing. However, I am totally against the way that the Governors of some southern states, like Texas and Florida, are going about to solve it. Their attempt and strategy are both un-American and a failure to remember the way that millions of White European immigrants came to this country in the heyday of the transatlantic migration in the early 20th century. Even if it strains us in various ways as a nation, we must stay on course and continue to strive to achieve a more perfect union. We must not forget the precedents and practices of our past that moved us to welcome immigrants from other countries on the other side of the Atlantic. These immortal words of American author/poet, Emma Lazarus, that are inscribed on the Statue of Liberty welcoming and giving hope to immigrants must be considered as we deal with the immigration problem at our southern borders: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore”.
As we continue our journey toward a more perfect union and to be successful in this experiment in democracy that has been going on for 247 years, it is incumbent upon us, both individually and corporately, as a nation to do all we can to aid and assure that the process succeeds.
Furthermore, we must remain vigilant, vigorous, and veracious against all foes – foreign and domestic – who oppose what America stands for. We must not allow the American dream and experience to die or to be compromised by neither extremism on the left or right.
If we are going to complete the process, finish our course, and achieve total success toward a more perfect union, we must strive and struggle together toward that goal with malice toward none and charity for all.