A Nation of Immigrants

We lived in the Washington, D.C. area in 1976 when our United States of America celebrated the Bicentennial of our founding. If I remember correctly one of the main themes of that celebration was that we were, and still are, and always will be, "A Nation of Immigrants." Except for the native peoples whose lands are within our borders, every single one of our families is originally from someplace else.

Few of our ancestors came from someplace else's upper and privileged classes. Most of the original immigrants who came here were poor, oppressed, and often without any other hope in this world. Some of them even came here out of fear for their very lives.They were refugees, seeking asylum.

I trace my family lineage back to Norway, Germany/Switzerland, and Bohemia. I doubt that the original Myers immigrants faced much resistance based on their country of origin in the 1750's. I don't know much about my Grandmother Myers' families' experiences, but Nordic types probably assimilated relatively easily. My mother's Czech ancestors came here just around the turn of the 20th century, and I understand that "eastern" (more properly "central") Europeans did face discrimination initially, although their skin color probably saved them from the worst of it. Race, whatever it is or isn't, matters.

It is easy for me to forget that my forebears came from someplace else because I've always been here, as were my parents. It is easy to forget to be grateful not only for the courage of those who first came, but also for the nation that gave them a chance, though sometimes begrudgingly.

Many Americans are here because their ancestors were brought here against their will, often as slaves. That African Americans are also here today is testimony to the very different level of courage required of their forbears. That they are Americans with us is testimony to the nation that still has not completely given them a chance, and to the magnanimity of their spirits.

The clear intention of the Trump administration is to encourage us all to forget...to forget our past, and to forget to be grateful. It is doing everything that crosses into its bone-headed little brains to say to the world, "We don't respect you and we don't want you. Go away and go home."

Is this the kind of America Americans want? Is this really what everyone who voted for Donald Trump was hoping he would do, and is it the way they hoped he would do it? The heavy-handedness and clumsiness of his immigration order is evidence that the White House is not up to the job it has been given to do. Even some Republicans and conservatives are saying that now.

And is it the kind of American the world wants, and needs, and looks to? I'd like to hear from the people from other lands who happen upon this blog. How do we look to you now?

We are "A Nation of Immigrants." Even President Donald Trump cannot change that fact.