Thread: Letter in local paper

Letters
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. 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 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. My father fought along side men 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 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 in 2006 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 1900s 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.

We need to let the "newer" immigrants know that this is the home of the red, white and blue, Either love it or leave it. Freedom hasn't ever come without a price and never has been free.

Either be a proud American and let go of your past or leave and go back to your past. We can't let them make demands for their past ways of their respective homelands, here. If we do, we'll lose our identity as Americans.


Joe Czaplicki is a resident of Zion



08/14/06

Wow! this letter has gotten around. I posted this about a month ago, and I received it in an email from my aunt and uncle in Mexifornia, I mean California. (no offense Californians)

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?nam...hlight=#189478

It was just in todays here. Whoever the original writer was, must have said what's on the hearts and minds of many, to have it make the rounds.

Atleast the word is getting out........

Crazybird, I think its awesome that this was in your local paper in IL. I know my aunt and uncle received it from someone in TX about a week before they sent it to me.

You are right, the writer really nailed it on the head about what the nation is feeling on this issue.

I saw the earlier post here, then got it via email from 2 of my Cuban-American friends.

See, take heart, the word is spreading!!

This was in our paper today too! Also, we have a call in/email option to give comments. There have now been almost daily comments about illegal immigrants -Against...

Sure glad it made it to some Illinois newspapers. I'm going to send it to ours too where it won't be printed but I'll try anyway.
Excellent letter.