Liberty Enlightening The World is the name of the statue. It was given to the United States by the people of France, and was dedicated on October 28, 1886.
.. Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American Poet. Lazarus was born into a large Jewish family, the fourth of seven children of Moses Lazarus and Esther Nathan.
.. Inscribed on a plaque is the final stanza of her sonnet entitled the 'NEW COLOSSUS.'
.. The sonnet was written in 1883 and donated to an auction, conducted by the "Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty" in order to raise funds to build the pedestal.
NEW COLOSSUS
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “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!”
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “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!”
Well at least my Norwegian and German ancestors got in some befriending the Native Americans who owned the land. Later two of my 5 grandchildren arrived from orphanages in those "shitholes" Ethiopia and Rwanda. The are both honor students in Arizona schools well above the reading level for their age. One, the girl, hopes to be admitted to Standord and the other has applied to Cal Berkely where he expects to continue his interest in science. Oh and my son and D.I.L went to Haiti, another county with a tragic relationship to the U.S. and France after the devastating earthquake. There she counseled survivors and family and he helped rebuild a orphanage where many were killed. They returned with an 12 year old girl who was pulled out of the rubble three days after the quake. She was unable to walk. A children's hospital in the U.S. repaired much of the damage and today she lives in Appalachia with a loving family. So much for people from "shithole" countries and the "asshole" who doesn't have a clue.
ReplyDeleteRay (Troutbirder from Bluff Country)
You and your family epitomize what it means to be good human beings and great Americans. It used to be what we stood for. Now it is about rich men getting richer.
DeleteWhy would we remove that statute? It calls people with hope. We've been through these episodes before. The solution is slow, and achievable. The last election shows we will overcome, and hopefully be joined by some of the 59 million you mention. Never quit, Mike.
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of in irony, like many of my posts. Maybe we should just modify Lazarus's text at the end of his poem.
DeleteToo much irony for my old bones. Though you made a bunch of us spit coffee. Take care.
DeleteThe sooner trump is gone-from office or the face of the earth-the better this nation and planet will be. There will be work to do to repair the fouling of our nest done by the evil man.
ReplyDeleteThe French are on a first-name basis with Lady Liberty. They call her Marianne. Marianne represents permanent values that bind her citizens' attachment to the Republic: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity". There's no going back. We are either a free country or not worthy of the gift of the "New Colossus"
ReplyDelete