willy
Nitro Member
According to Snopes this is actually unsubstantiated..but a good read:
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 (signed)
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
Statute 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 alongside 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 Hilter, 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
Statute 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
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 (signed)
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
Statute 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 alongside 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 Hilter, 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
Statute 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
