The Statue of Liberty has the Emma Lazarus poem emblazoned on a plaque, and it has become synonymous with the hope our country offers to the world, inviting them to send "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free."
Lady Liberty stands there forever in New York's harbor, where boatloads of immigrants from Europe used to behold her as their first view of America -- and of hope.
But not Monday. She is part of the U.S. national parks and monuments service. And thus she will be closed to visitors on Monday, if the shutdown is not solved.
Of course, most immigrants these days, much to President Trump's displeasure, do not come by boat from Europe. They come from Latin America and from Asia and Africa. Not so many from Norway.
So, as Congress falters in disagreement over immigration, we do not welcome them to our shores. And our president and his hard-liners delight in deporting those who get in without permission -- and, it seems, even those brought here as children, who have never known another home or another land.
Ralph
PS: New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that New York State will pay for workers to open the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for visitors on Monday. Let it be known, however, that the above irony continues, given that it is the federal government, presided over by Donald Trump, and Congress, controlled by Republicans, who are responsible in the long run for keeping them open.
PS: New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that New York State will pay for workers to open the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for visitors on Monday. Let it be known, however, that the above irony continues, given that it is the federal government, presided over by Donald Trump, and Congress, controlled by Republicans, who are responsible in the long run for keeping them open.
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