I was walking with the throng after the last boom lit up the sky, listening to strains of "God Bless the USA" and thinking about what it means to be an American.
A few days earlier, my 13-year-old had opined that there is no definitive "American" culture. We're just a blend of many different world cultures, she observed, sparking discussion with my brother-in-law about constitutional democracy and McDonald's.
Of course, there is more to American culture than freedom and fries. We've got baseball and apple pie and "The Star Spangled Banner," fireworks on July Fourth and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and our own brand of football. We have favorite foods like pizza, tacos and Kung Pao chicken, which started with authentic recipes from other cultures but morphed into uniquely American concoctions.
That brings me to the elephant in the room, a fundamental thing that makes America unique: our status as a nation of immigrants. With the exception of those of pure Native American descent, nobody is "from here." In my 6-year-old daughter's elementary school, this is something to celebrate, with the sharing of family trees and recipes and many lessons on diversity.
In the "real" world, however, our melting pot heritage has become a stew of discontent that's starting to bubble over. Race relations in this country have never been easy, but it seems we've reached a tipping point where immigration reform is concerned.
Arizona's new law requiring police to check immigration status based on "reasonable suspicion" that a person is here illegally is a desperate step in the wrong direction. How could this law not result in racial profiling in a state where 30 percent of the population is of Hispanic or Latino origin? With drug cartel violence escalating along the border, it's easy to see why the state does not want to wait for federal reform. However, empowering police to question people on the street based on how they look or sound is a misguided attempt to address a complicated situation.
Illegal immigration is not a simple us-them problem. The violence on the Mexican border is fueled, in large part, by American guns and American demand for drugs. The supply of jobs for undocumented workers is sustained, in large part, by the economic system we all play a part in. Substandard wages for migrant workers, chambermaids and dishwashers contribute to low prices at supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. Unfair trade agreements with developing nations contribute to the poverty that makes people desperate enough to come here illegally.
We must address all of these issues, while also expediting legal immigration, tightening border security and figuring out how to treat the millions of illegal immigrants who are already here. The reform plan President Obama outlined in a recent speech at American University seems like a reasonable start.
The plan calls for improvements in border security and the system for tracking visas, since many illegal immigrants do not sneak across the border but, rather, overstay their legal visiting status. It would also stiffen penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers, decreasing incentives for people to come here illegally as well as the practice of undercutting legal immigrants and American-born citizens looking for work.
The most controversial proposal is the establishment of a "pathway to citizenship" for the undocumented workers who are already here, whereby they would admit they broke the law, register, pay a fine, pay taxes, learn English and begin a long process toward earning citizenship.
It's clearly not practical, cost-effective or morally right to round up and deport every person who is here illegally. Yes, they should pay a penalty for not following the rules, out of fairness to those who are pursuing citizenship through the proper channels. After that, if they are willing to work, pay taxes, contribute to their communities and stay out of trouble, why shouldn't they be allowed to stay?
Part of America's identity is its reputation as a place where anything is possible, where education and hard work are the keys to opportunity and prosperity. It's what brought my grandfather to Ellis Island from Greece 90 years ago and what continues to draw other bright and hard-working immigrants today.
As the debate over immigration reform heats up, we would do well to remember that America has always been a place of freedom and refuge from poverty and persecution.
That is, after all, what we celebrate on Independence Day.
Lisa Miller is a freelance writer who lives in Oneonta. She can be reached at lisamiller44@hotmail.com.
Columns
Related Photos
-
lisamiller.jpg
Discussion
Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.
Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.
Disqus gives users the ability to log into our story comments feature so that they may be able to track their conversations, receive emails when their comments get a reply or to even have your comments update onto your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
For the time being, our story comments feature will continue to have the ability to post comments anonymously. We reserve the right to require registration in the future using your name and verified email address.
Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified at the newspaper’s discretion for a number of different reasons. Please follow our Online Rules of Conduct at all times.
RULES OF CONDUCT:
We reserve the right to remove comments that are unacceptable, to wit:
1. False and inacurate statements.
2. Personal attacks. Explicit name-calling.
3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
7. Accusations of criminal activity.
8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.
WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:
1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:
1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.
WE WELCOME:
1. Flagging violations of these rules that you observe to our attention.
MONITORING:
We monitor comments regularly Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approval of comments outside of this time (including weekends) will be sporadic.
Many forget U.S. is a nation built by immigrants
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
-
-
Safety Patrol D.C. visits never get old
I asked Cam Morris, head of Eastern Travel/Oneonta Bus Lines, how many years her company has been handling the Safety Patrol trip to Washington, D.C.
Continued ... - My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
- Catching a whiff of 'Vermont Vapor'
- Selections from the virtual mailbag
- Recalling days of 'Doughnut King'
-
Safety Patrol D.C. visits never get old
- Cary Brunswick
-
-
We've become our own worst enemies
The past month has been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
Continued ... - Plenty of blame to go around for Bangladesh horror
- Obama is going against his word on Social Security
- Reflecting on a Florida trip
- Those magnificent spies in their flying machines
-
We've become our own worst enemies
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
-
-
Records seizure is an insult to free press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
Continued ... - The evangelical view of same-sex marriage
- Manor's fate will be Otsego board's legacy
- A closer look at our economy - Part II
- Use fracking to fill budget gaps
-
Records seizure is an insult to free press
- Lisa Miller
-
-
A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
Continued ... - Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
-
- Mark Simonson
-
-
General Clinton Canoe Regatta got a new home in 1972
Ever since 1963, when Charles Hinkley and a group of Tri-Town businessmen came up with the idea for what we know today as the General Clinton Canoe Regatta, people lined the shores of the Susquehanna to watch the canoeists as they made their 70-mile trek from Cooperstown to Bainbridge.
Continued ... - Sunday movies in Oneonta finally shown in 1934
- Politics, fitness and landmarks dominated local news in May 1968
- Local people sought income in many ways in 1933
- Local windstorm in 1983 caused tense moments
-
- Rick Brockway
-
-
Kids have sparkle in their eyes
When I was in my teens, old Bill Naatz told me about a stream north of Lake George where a man had panned out enough gold to make his wife a wedding band. It was all rumors, but to his grandson and myself, it sounded like the makings of a great adventure.
- People make the outdoors even better
- Turkey season has ups and downs
- Spring air isn't always the freshest
- Adriondacks keep growing and growing
-
Kids have sparkle in their eyes
- Sam Pollak
- William Masters
-
-
Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
As the time to vote draws near, we need to remember how money can run politics more than we can. Raising funds is a prominent (if not the dominant) task of getting elected. Raising issues is also crucial, but those efforts are subject to distortion and fear-mongering.
- Republicans feelentitled to allthey can garner An entitlement is a legal benefit available from the government to individuals who are within a defined category of recipients, such as needing insurance for unemployment or health services.
-
Romney focuses on self; Obama emphasizes unity
Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for saying a person's success is rooted in his community, and is not all his alone. Romney belittles this with his belief in individual initiative. He is better at the put-down than the push-up.
-
Romney shows little regard for common man
The Republicans in Congress have voted over and over, 33 times, redundantly and uselessly, to rescind what they call Obamacare.
-
Scouts' gay ban creates problem where none exists
The Boy Scouts of America's "emphatic reaffirmation" of its vow to exclude any and all homosexuals from its hallowed ranks is ill-considered and pathetic, especially in view of its having reviewed the matter for two years.
-
Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
