Little "AMERICAN" email

This is just and emial i had recieved but feel that it states a point i believe in.



My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register
which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by
sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.


Dave LaBonte

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange
County Register:

Dear Editor:



So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this
land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one,suggests we should tear
down the Statute of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being
treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of
entry. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like
Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of
immigrant any longer.

Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the
United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New
York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and
kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new
country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in
their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with

their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their
children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children
assimilate into one culture.



Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them.

All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade
for a future of prosperity.


Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father
fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy ,
France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any
thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans
fighting Hilter, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the
United States of America as one people.

When we liberated Fr ance, no one in those villages were looking for the
French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of
France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country.
Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another
country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a
disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These
immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot
into one red, white and blue bowl.



And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and
privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules,
one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful
to their mother country.


I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who

landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work

and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for

those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being

used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.



And for that suggestion about taking down the Statute of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot

to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about
dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

P.S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!! KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!!