ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER
This is a very good letter to the editor. This woman made some
good points. For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their
arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed
immigration revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple.
NOT printed in the Orange County Paper.....
Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they
either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree
with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a
great letter to the editor that should have been published; but, with
your help it will get published via cyberspace!
New Immigrants
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.
(signed) Dave LaBonte
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 in 2007 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 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
