The New Colossus
By Emma Lazarus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
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; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” 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!”
I hope the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America will be an occasion to unite people around the principles the nation was founded on. To think we will achieve a perfect end is unrealistic, but we can continue to strive for these ideals. So, on this Fourth of July, take a moment to reflect on the founding principles and how you can, in any small way, move our society towards the ideals the founders laid out.
As someone who has lived their political life to the left of center, I also want to encourage my friends on the left to take back the flag. For too long, we’ve ceded it to the government and to the right. That flag represents all the people and the founding principles. So, fly the flag, not in support of the government or ideology, but in support of the principles. We have a long way to go, but we are all in this together.
“Drops of water turn the mill, singly none, singly none.”
Robin McClellan 