If people around the world were asked to name one symbol that defines the American nation, most would reply “The Statue of Liberty”. That statue faces outward to the world from New York harbor.
It was severely damaged by last year’s Hurricane Sandy, but it recently re-opened, and New Yorkers and tourists alike have been standing in line for hours to celebrate this national symbol being made whole again.
Sadly, America is in the act of building another monument that the world will also know us by. It’s a wall, topped in many places with razor wire, and under heavy surveillance by 20,000 border patrol personnel, with the blue sky above often alive with predator drones.
For many years Lady Liberty has bid welcome to the “poor….the tired….the yearning to be free,” but the 2000 mile fortified wall on our southern border says “Keep out,” “Go better yourself elsewhere,” and “Go be free somewhere else.”
And still the immigrants come - often undocumented. Even here in Vermont it’s estimated that there are approximately 1600 of them working on our dairy farms. Our Dairy farmers insist that these are immigrants whose work keeps that industry from crumbling.
A few semesters ago I was assisted by an immigrant in a university course I taught. His name is Ernesto and he was born in Chihuahua State, Mexico, but he’s now a naturalized American. He’s talented, trilingual, hard working, and consistently upbeat. His family has a fascinating historical background and how fortunate I think this country is that his family chose to come here.
When I was young, another wall against people, one even more odious than ours, was constructed. It was the Berlin wall, piled brick upon brick by the harshest tyranny. President Ronald Reagan dared the Soviet leader Mihail Gorbachev to “tear down that wall.” And Gorbachev did. I hope the day will come when this new wall, our wall, will also be torn down.
In his Gettysburg address 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln referred to the “unfinished work” of America . And today, it seems clear to me that when our country militarizes 2000 miles of our border against a poor neighbor, our work and promise as a people is indeed “unfinished.”
Since I’ve had the opportunity to teach occasional university courses in the southwest where the population is largely Hispanic, I’ve often been moved to real pride that my country is home to so many rich and thriving cultures. The food alone makes me cry for joy. If I ever get to heaven I won’t walk though those pearly gates until I’m assured that heaven also provides green chili cheeseburgers! And make mine heavy on the chili!
