Another comment worthy of reflection. Almost all of us have similar family stories we could tell, except for those exclusively descended from slaves and Native Americans. They're all remarkably similar in essence, regardless of race, or when our ancestors came. Yet, in nuance, meaning and significance, even within the same family, even between siblings, they can be remarkably different, as they define us and we define them:
Mine is the American story of an immigrant. The family legend has that my grandfather arrived here on his 18th birthday. He met and married my grandmother who had emigrated from the same Eastern European country.
My grandfather would work for over 50 years in the steel mills and be one of the first steel workers to become part of a labor union. During the depression they took in relatives to house and feed, grew gardens and geese and chickens.
Some of their children would not make it to adulthood but the seven that did all become successful in their own way. One even made it to college and became an engineer for U.S. Steel. My own father and mother had a successful small business though neither of my parents graduated from high school.
I have watched waves of immigrants reach our shore, first from Cuba, then Viet Nam, now from Mexico, Poland, Russia, and India. Each has the unique story. Some come here without anything; some come armed with a good education and a skill. Each has come to try a new life in a country where opportunity seems limitless and wide open spaces still exist. I marvel at their bravery to come to a country with a foreign language and often very foreign customs. I wonder if I could adjust to new land as my grandparents did before me.
One thing I am sure of those is that the immigrants that come to our shore have made us stronger. They bring to us the best of their homelands and we are the benefactors. These are the exceptional few that have courage and the ability to embrace change. The immigrant story is the backbone of this country and it is the backbone of my story.
My father was born on the Fourth of July and so as a family this was always a day of great celebration. So it has always been in my life this day is always seen as a day for new beginnings and new horizons.
Today let us celebrate all that is good in our country and to remember that there is still work to do so that the blessings are secured for the next generation and every generation thereafter.
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