As a child, a couple of the neighbor girls came over to play. We pretended to be royalty. They insisted that they were the two pretty princesses in the kingdom. Overhearing our conversation, my parents thought I would be upset, then they heard my reply. “That’s ok. I’ll be the Queen.”We don’t have dynasties in this country. We are seen throughout the world as a land of opportunity. Ellis Island has long been considered a gate to freedom, and The Statue of Liberty, a beacon of light, welcoming those who seek to be Americans.The statue, now an attraction, is studied and viewed, but few know the sculpture singularly. Most quote the words of Emma Lazarus. Her sonnet, The New Colossus, written to fundraise for the statue’s base, has become nearly inseparable from the statue itself. Many likely don’t know that it was inscribed later.I once thought of our Liberty Enlightening the World as our Queen, however, Emma made the work stronger for me. As a child I found her work inspiring.
As an adult, Emma’s words remind me, remind us all, to remain strong in the face and the times of tyranny. Despite her words being written so long ago, they call to us now, for history repeats itself.
We are all new to this country. We are all immigrants to this land. We can be princesses. We can be Queens. If we experience true power, may we wield it kindly and responsibly.
“Our weakness will be our greed.”
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