Sadly, the world’s perception of U.S. changing

Next month I will be attending the 50th-year reunion of a bicycling group that pedaled across the U.S. in conjunction with the Bicentennial in 1976. Over 4,100 riders cycled at least part of the cross-country trail, with about half riding the entire trail. Cyclists from all 50 states and from several countries participated. Our group of 15 had 6 riders from the Netherlands.

10 of our original 15 members will attend the reunion, but one couple from the Netherlands wrote an email to the group with their regrets that they would not attend. They cited health concerns and the cost of the trip as the main reasons, but one comment was particularly telling. They said that part of the reason they would not attend was that the United States was currently not very welcoming to aliens.

This really hit me as sad, embarrassing and infuriating. This is how the rest of the world perceives our country. We used to be regarded as the “shining city on the hill,” welcoming all from around the globe. As it says on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Now we are seen as an isolationist country, expelling immigrants and making it more and more difficult, not only to emigrate here, but even just to visit. Pathetic.

Jim Michie

Palatine