Land of the Free?

At first glance it looks like they're holding hands,
but a closer look paints a more accurate picture.

I love the Fourth of July, but I struggled to celebrate our country's freedom yesterday while knowing that there are people in our beloved United States who came here seeking freedom and found only greater hardship and despair.

I'm talking about immigrants.

This country was founded by immigrants. People sailed across the sea seeking a land where they could be free to live and believe the way that they wanted to. Men and women have fought and died over generations to secure and maintain this freedom. And yet we seem to have forgotten so easily why we fight and what we fight for.

There are people from other countries that are fleeing from deplorable situations and coming here to seek refuge. Who come here because this is the "land of the free" where every human being has a right to "the pursuit of happiness". They come here looking for a place to live and believe the way that they want to. They're not only looking for religious freedom and new lands to explore, but for a place to be safe and raise their families. And yet they seem to have fled from one terrible situation to another. They arrive here with hope that is soon dashed to pieces as their families are ripped apart and they are placed in depressing conditions without some of the most basic necessities.

Don't get me wrong, I love America. I am so incredibly grateful to have grown up in a free land. But I am learning that my freedom seems to only be dependent upon me being born here, not upon the principles that this country is supposed to be based upon.

I absolutely think that there should be rules and regulations in place to help immigrants transition to life here. But "help" is the operative word there. If someone comes here with a desire for a better life and a willingness to work hard for it, then why should we inhibit that?

I understand that there are those who would mooch off of the government or come here for nefarious purposes (drug or sex trafficking among them). And there should be rules put into place for those instances. But there are also American-born citizens who mooch off of the government and live despicable lives. So I don't think that all refugees and immigrants should be treated like scum because of the former.

I'll be the first to admit that I know very little about politics and government. I don't know or understand all of the issues surrounding immigration. But I do know that I live in a land that takes pride in its freedom. And so I don't understand how we can proclaim freedom from the rooftops and then strip freedom away from others in the shadows.

I love the United States and everything that it stands for, but I don't feel that many of the practices being enacted at this time are in line with those standards.

So now that the celebrations are winding down, I ask you to consider what we just celebrated and ask yourself if you can honestly say that this is the land of the free.


PS- Here is an article from the Washington Post that talks about the horrible conditions that migrant detainees are being held in.

PPS- My brother has a blog and he's written quite a bit about the immigration issue lately. Check out some of his recent posts about it!

The Good American
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Love Thy Neighbor
Let's Just Tear Down the Statue of Liberty!