Saturday, December 18, 2010

Broken Dreams

A minority of Senators have succeeded in blocking the DREAM act, which would have provided a path to legal citizenship for children of undocumented residents. Apparently these misanthropes have declared that the America I grew up in is no longer the America I live in. Generally, these naysayers are the same Neanderthals who voted against medical care for the 9-11 heroes that they use as political pawns and whose House colleagues are in favor of oppression of children around the world in their blocking of the Child Marriage Protection Act. (My apologies for insulting Neanderthals.)

The America I grew up in was not perfect. There have always been problems in how we have treated non-whites and non-Christians in their search for the American dream, whether it is the thousands of Japanese who we put in internment camps, the thousands of Jews trying to find a home free of the tyranny of the Nazi state, or the thousands of Muslims who run into hateful opposition when they attempt to construct houses of worship or cultural centers.

The opposition to the DREAM act is based on contention that some of the immigrants might be criminals. So, they want to punish all potential Americans for the sins of a few. Let it be also noted, that there are more than a handful of GOP senators like Ensign and Vitter who have engaged in criminal activity and are still “serving” in that body.

It is not unusual to see the Republicans’ hypocrisy when their flag-waving acolytes use the Statue of Liberty in their xenophobic messages. Perhaps they should read the timeless words of Emma Lazarus that appear at the base of that icon of America’s welcoming attitude:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

3 comments:

  1. I believe it is based on the fact the immigrates are illegal and we are not asking enough of them for what they will get.

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  2. I have no problem with Illegal Immigrants wanting to serve our country in the military and thus gaining citizenship. What bothered me with the "Dream Act" is that they wanted to give citizenship to anyone who wanted to come to the US to be a student.

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  3. Emma Lazarus contemplated immigrants sailing into New York harbor and entering legally via Ellis Island. I doubt her welcome extended to immigrants sneaking over the Arizona border and killing law enforcement officers, as happened just a couple of days ago.

    But good catch on how Republicans hate children. It must never be forgotten that Republicans hate children.

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