Lectern

By Steve Kelman

Blog archive

The Lectern: Immigrants, White Christmas, and God Bless America

I normally try to keep this blog away from national politics, but I can't help writing about how upset I am about the outpouring of mean-spirited, sometimes racist sentiments about immigrants that has arisen in connection with this year's presidential campaign. It makes me ashamed that so many Americans feel this way. Can't we all agree with John McCain that immigrants are God's children too?


Do I need to repeat the cliché' that American is a nation of immigrants, and that immigrants have in the past and continue to build our country?


This holiday season we should all recall that the song White Christmas -- what could be more mainstream American? -- was written by Irving Berlin, a Jewish immigrant, born Israel Baline, whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Russia to escape religious persecution when their son was five years old.


This same immigrant wrote God Bless America, the song that Americans everywhere spontaneously sang after 9/11.


Best holiday wishes to all. This will be my only blog post this week.

Posted by Steve Kelman on Dec 27, 2007 at 9:41 AM


Reader comments

Fri, Dec 28, 2007 James Griffin

In your entire article, you never used the word "ILLEGAL". The mean-spirited, racist American citizens, as you refer to them, don't have a problem with immigrants. Most of us are immigrants. “Illegal” is where the problems start. What makes me ashamed – you, John McCain, and others that want to pick and choose the laws to enforce. Just obey the law!I wonder what the immigration law was in 1893, when Irving Berlin’s parents came to this country. No matter. You and McCain would grant him amnesty anyway.

Fri, Dec 28, 2007 Ramona Winkelbauer

Immigration is a process where the person who wants to come to the country asks for *permission*. An illegal immigrant, by definition, came across the border WITHOUT permission. Why does Mr. Kelman think it is 'racist' to object to this illegal behaviour? One can legitimately believe that the current process is slow, bureaucratic, byzantine and yet also believe that prospective citizens MUST follow the process (and other American laws). If there are problems with the process, certainly it, and other issues are able to be modified by Congressional & Executive action (i.e., changing the law). In the meantime, asking that the current laws be enforced is neither racist nor mean-spirited.

Fri, Dec 28, 2007 mike miller

To second the comments of Kjirsti, fewer and fewer immigrants assimilate into the American culture and this results in loyalties to the home country and not the country they have immigrated to. Compound this with the fact that many send the money home rather than investing in the new country and those of us already here have to assume payment for their costs. A case in point, the cost of neonatal care in Fairfax County has gone up dramatically because of the sharp increase in the number of immigrants to the county. Yet many rely on the social services of the county without paying into that medical system. For proponents of a national health care system, take this into consideration-any baby born prematurely is automatically eligible for medicare whether the parents and/or the baby have health insurance or the means to pay the costs. This results in everyone else having to pay the costs.

Fri, Dec 28, 2007 Gail K

Odd how some just don't get the whole illegal immigrant thing. America is certainly made up of immigrants, but we all have jobs!!! We didn't come here for a free ride!!!! Personally, I'm tired of paying for some else's ride!!! Come here, learn the language, become a citizen and get a job. Why should anyone be able to live off the sweat or pay check of another. My health care might even go down if I wasn't paying for others!!! There should be rules you live by when you come to another country -- you'd have to live by them if you immigrated to their country!!! Why does America have to be so permissive?

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