Letter: A reminder of America

On the evening before the Fourth of July, as my family and I walked to the park to see the fireworks display, we passed an couple sitting outside a convenience store. They were Indian, to judge from their attire. I said good evening, and they nodded to me. I wanted to say something more. Now I know what I meant to tell them.

I wanted to say, "Thank you for coming to America. I don't know what it's like to leave the place where I was born and move to another land, and I can't imagine what would cause some people to do it." Maybe they are looking toward their own personal horizon or are leaving trouble behind. We have trouble of our own here already, and the folks arriving from everywhere else know that. Still, they come.

We need them. Americans are a practical people, and we as a country are lessened when we do not have individuals and families with new ideas and fresh ambition join us. We will always have weak people (the children of other immigrants) complaining that we have too many more immigrants, just as we will have troublemakers stirring things up. I see it as creative friction. I see it as a way to wake us up. Anyone who willingly comes here is an American in his or her heart and already has been for some time. Each is bringing us more of what is best in us. These folks remind us who we are, even in our worst moments. Especially in our worst moments.

So, "Thanks for coming here. I apologize for the troublemakers and welcome you on behalf of all of the doers, the builders, the dreamers, and the makers who preceded you. Thank you for reminding us who we are as Americans."

David C. Smith

Palatine