Lazarus and Liberty

The 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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus


There is much, and very positive, to say about Emma Lazarus. Unfortunately, I will not be able to say it here.I would like to say, though, that the words in bold above are representative of the real United States of America.

As I write this, babies are being ripped from the arms of their mothers (in one case while she was breastfeeding the infant) and fathers (one of whom committed suicide the next day). In a particularly disturbing case, three siblings were huddled together, with tears streaming down their cheeks. The detention-center employee was told to tell them that no hugs were allowed. This was too much for him, and he quit his job then and there.

More than two thousand children have been separated from their parents and sent to detention centers. There, they are kept in cages. This has been characterized as "institutionalized child abuse," and I agree with that description. In many cases, the parents did nothing illegal, and were only seeking asylum.

The United States no longer recognizes certain reasons for seeking asylum, including domestic violence. The United States of America has now withdrawn from the UN human-rights forum, taking its place with the worst dictatorships of the planet.

This is not America. We are better than this. The inhumane separation of children from their parents must end. 

This nightmare through which the United States is now living, must also end.