On the base of the Statue of Liberty, are inscribed the immortal words of Emma Lazarus,
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-tossed — to me;
I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door.
There was a time when America was unique in the world as a bastion of freedom. The Statue of Liberty was a gift that acknowledged that fact.
As Harry Browne pointed out, at the time of Lady Liberty’s installation, she was saying,
Whoever you are, wherever you are, if you can just get to America, you can be free. No matter what your station where you are now, you’ll be equal before the law here.
No one will ask for your papers.
No one will fasten a number on you.
No one will extort a percentage of your income as the price of earning a living.
You’ll be free to pursue the life you’ve always dreamed of.
But this week an immigration bill will be voted on in the U.S. Senate. It will include provisions that will number all of us and require us to produce our papers.
There was a time when being American meant never having to hear “may I see your papers please” — let alone a duty to show those papers. Anti-immigrant fervor is changing that.
Nearly everyone reading this message is a descendant of immigrants who came to pursue the life they’ve always dreamed of — to make things better for them and their family AND YOU.
And there was a time when Congress was required to read their bills, aloud, before it could come to a vote. But this immigration bill, which has run into some speed bumps, was originally scheduled for a vote before a printed copy was even made available.
My Sunday radio show, the Downsize DC Conference Call is sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Gun Owners of America, and this week, a special sponsor, HarryBrowne.org. The views expressed by the host are not necessarily those of any of the sponsors.
I need to make that clear. Not everyone agrees with me.
You see, there was a time when America was once a shining city on a hill. Now, they’re putting up a wall.
Is America’s time over? Have we lost our essential “Americaness?”
You’re welcome to share your thoughts on Congressional sneakiness and irresponsibility, on amnesty, opportunity, hope, or walls and moats.
The number is 1-800-259-9231, or
you can email me, at “Call at DownsizeDC dot org.”
The hour long program begins at 4:06 PM Eastern (3:06 PM Central, 2:06 PM Mountain, and 1:06 PM Pacific).
You can hear it at www.GCNLive.com/listenlive.htm
No Real ID required to participate. But an open mind and a tender heart are encouraged.
Jim Babka
Host
Downsize DC Conference Call
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