Immigration and the 4th of July

The Fourth of July is amongst us and everyone in Worcester Mass a Two Sticks is festive. We have the Grand Nationals up at Green Hill Park with all the hot rods and classic cars from days gone by and life is good. Burn outs are happening all over the city and people are enjoying the festive weekend.

Some of our neighbors put on a great fire works display over at the empty parking lot of the local hospital and it really touched me as my five girls and I watched the show. For over twenty minutes they shot one rocket after another up and we cheered as a family. Just for the record, fireworks are against the law in Mass a Two Sticks but the police officers are kind enough to look the other way for the enjoyment of all the kids watching our little piece of the world’s celebration of Independence Day. It was great to see all of the folks in the neighborhood come out to see the show and cheer along.

My girls hooted and hollered with the best of the crowd over the sheer joy of seeing such a great display and celebration of our American holiday. Freedom and respect of a nation based on freedom was shot off with every rocket. Every boom that bounced off the neighborhood buildings was cheered. My kids went nuts over it and loved it.

Tonight led me to a line of thought that I don’t think a lot of us consider this time of year. Freedom. Freedom is a huge advantage in this world if you don’t have it. To some it is like being able to breath where there was no air. As a person of immigrants from Ireland I can understand what freedom is. I think that the message that is freedom is lost on generations of Americans as they forget the old world and live here with all of our given freedoms granted to us by the many that served our nation.

America offers absolute opportunity to everyone. If you choose to work a nine to five job for an employer then that is your choice. If you choose to build your own business then that is a freedom our country offers you.

Some folks get pissed off when they see a so called foreigner running a gas station or operating a small business. I think it is great. Only immigrants see what the opportunities are available because they came from nothing. Most Americans see our society as working for someone else. Immigrants see it differently. They see the opportunity that you and I miss. They reach for more where you and I settle for what is the status quo.

In their reach for the American dream they create jobs for future generations and expand our economy. They take the risk that most of us dare not venture. Why they do it is simple. They are used to being handed nothing and having to survive with that. They make our country more than she could ever be without them. Only because they seek the dream that most Americans have forgotten that our founding fathers handed us down through the generations.

This isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a human being issue. Some will see the glass half full and others will see it stolen. Immigration is a necessity to our nations survival and expansion for the greater good. Immigration be it legal or illegal is a commodity that our nation can never have enough of. The dilema that comes with it is for us to decide and fix.

Papamoka

Feel free to link this site to yours and spread the word…..