Hi, I was going to post about some spring pattern releases but I can’t get Donald Trump’s recent executive order on immigration out of my mind. So that’s why the Statue of Liberty is the focus of this post. Trump’s order limits immigration from seven Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
This is a sewing blog so I don’t usually mention politics here. But I can’t be silent. My parents immigrated to this county from Thailand. I am the daughter of immigrants. This is a country of many, many millions of immigrants. This country has had a long tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees – people fleeing persecution in their home countries.
The Statue of Liberty is what we stand for. Here’s the sonnet written by Emma Lazarus in 1883 that was written for a fundraiser for the pedestal for the statue. It’s inscribed on a plaque. It’s those last lines that are so often quoted and that is what America has been to the world.
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!”
I am heartened by all the protests that have erupted all over the country. We must stand up for civil rights, human rights, immigrant rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, environmental right and all the other rights that are in imminent danger from the Trump administration.
To read more about our lady of liberty, see this National Parks page.
Thank you for this. My hope is that every protest, blog post and act of kindness, big or small can stem the tide of hatred and ignorance. Whenever I feel like I am losing hope I remember Mother Teresa’s words. “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
You’re welcome – and thank you for your comment. That’s a great quote, which I will keep in mind during the difficult days ahead.
So many of us in UK (and Europe) are feeling the shock of Trump’s action. We’ve had protests in almost every big city and petitioned our Prime Minister. I don’t know if any of this will help, or what more to say, except maybe ‘Hope”
All the protests help let the world
know that this is unacceptable. It certainly helps us feel less bleak and more energized to go to the next protest. So thank you for your support. The petition got amazing response and gave me a thrill.
Thank you for this. I feel the same way, like I just can’t be silent in the face of all that’s happening. My ancestors a few generations back were Irish indentured servants–we truly are a nation of immigrants. I stand with you.
You’re very welcome. United we stand, divided we fall. Hopefully enough of us can unite and overturn tyranny.