Arthor Unknown
This is for my Dad and my grandparents who came over
here so many years ago.... and found their way through
hard work and perseverance....so I can
really relate to this.....it is a little long...but
take a minute to read.
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.
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. Dave LaBonte
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 brokeout.
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 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. 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
Ever Onward!!
GOD BLESS AMERICA
This is for my Dad and my grandparents who came over
here so many years ago.... and found their way through
hard work and perseverance....so I can
really relate to this.....it is a little long...but
take a minute to read.
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.
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. Dave LaBonte
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 brokeout.
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 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. 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
Ever Onward!!
GOD BLESS AMERICA
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