"I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life." -President Ronald Reagan
"What the American people hope -– what they deserve -– is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds, different stories, different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared: a job that pays the bills; a chance to get ahead; most of all, the ability to give their children a better life." -President Barack Obama
Were you to learn today that your husband or wife or your child had been diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, what financial limit would you place upon the medical treatment? After all, you've got bills to pay already...a mortgage, a boat payment, credit cards. And besides, you have been saving up for that vacation trip your family has been planning for next summer! What do you figure...maybe agree to spend up to $5,000...maybe $10,000 max on the medical treatment. "Doc, just set the meter and let me know when it reaches $10,000. We'll just have to stop treatment at that point so I can make my boat payment." ABSURD!
You and I would both move Heaven and Earth, sell everything we might have, borrow exceedingly, and pray ceaselessly until our cherished loved one recovered or went home to be with the Father. One does not place a price upon the genuine love we have for our spouse or child.
Likewise, as Americans we have been smart enough to know better than to place a phony or politically-motivated price upon our Freedom. From the American Revolution to the Civil War to the World Wars to our current missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have long learned that families across America demand Freedom and the world looks to the greatest nation on Earth to safeguard freedom from tyrants and terrorists. Today's war-torn foreign family could be tomorrow's American entrepreneur. Today's forlorn orphan could be tomorrow's state college graduate.
I don't know about you, but I'm not of Native American ancestry. I am the son of a son and daughter of sons and daughters of immigrants...some dating back centuries, others to the early 20th century. Our Ellis Island loomed large as the ships made their way into New York's harbor, much as Miami or Los Angeles or Seattle or Houston loom large to tomorrow's engineers, fishermen, firefighters and ditch diggers. Nor can we ever forget the tragedy brought upon those individuals and families who arrived under the duress and cruelty of the colonial slave trade.
While my immediate family and yours (perhaps even YOU personally) have bravely and unquestioningly served our nation at home and on foreign soil, our immigrant ancestors with one foot planted on American soil and one foot planted in their homeland, looked upon us from Heaven and smiled proudly. The Department of Defense has acknowledged that our legal immigrants are a welcome addition to our strong military. As the United States Senate supported our military in standing up for inclusion and diversity this week, I thought back to why we fought the American Revolution (freedom from unlawful taxation and oppression) and the Civil War (equality for all God's children)...and acknowledged that we're still the "land of the Free, the home of the Brave" that draws families craving God's love, entrepreneurial and educational opportunities, and the Call to Military Service.
We cannot deny that we live in the greatest God-loving nation on Earth! Just as we would never think to turn off the financial tap to save our beautiful wife, our precocious child, our hard-working husband, why would we--ourselves descendants of immigrants--divisively and discriminatorily tell this generation of immigrants not to likewise serve in the strongest, proudest Military on Earth? Much as we cannot look back at the racial segregation of the American Military or American higher education with any pride, nor will our grandchildren look back with any pride if we deny men and women who yearn for Liberty the opportunity to serve God and Country simply because of an accent, a wardrobe, or a skin color difference.
Tear down those walls of hatred and fear...throw open those garden gates of welcome...and embrace all those law-abiding folks who yearn for the God-given freedom and equal opportunity that our great nation has offered our ancestors so that we might become entrepreneurs, home owners, farmers, soldiers, and ditch diggers.
God bless you and your family, and God bless America!
