Mother of Exiles

 

As I reflected on our nation this Independence Day, I found myself thinking of how we no longer seem to throw our doors open to new immigrants. That got me thinking about how far we've come from the words on the Statue of Liberty. The statue was a gift from the people of France. The foundation and pedestal was paid for by the people of the United States. I found it significant that the wealthy of both countries were not interested in contributing anything. The statue was unveiled in 1886 and the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus was added in 1903. Here are some of the lines that I pray we Americans might once again find room for in our hearts:
....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....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!"