|
| Re: Immigrants, Not Americans, Must Adapt! (Score: 1)
by jwedwards74 on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 @ 12:39:35 EST | I know these are trying times, they are difficult, and frustrating. However, we must also keep in mind why this country was created and the principles it was created on. Events like 9/11 and the Iraq war bring us together, and remind us of what we as a nation are founded on, and made of. These things are good, and they build a country. However, they also have the power to tear a country apart.
We are a nation of immigrants, the statue of liberty states "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-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." The United States is not just our country, it's for the world. Yes, we often screw that up, and have had a history of not making friends in the world, but this is the nature of such things. But all that aside, we are a lamp of freedom, a lamp of justice, and hope. I for one, pray that this country never forgets that. On 9/11 we lost Americans, Latin Americans, Chinese, Europeans, and even those from the middle east. All indiscriminately killed by those who wish to put that lamp out. We have a duty to hold on to that which we were given by our forefathers. A country that stands as a symbol of freedom, democracy, and hope for the world.
I appreciate the authors premise that we offer a "better life" here in America, but let us not forget so many of these people have fled here because they suffered persecution and death for their ideology and religion. Just as our forefathers did 200+ years ago. They are the same, they came to land seeking freedom, and the ability to worship what they believed in. I am a born again Christian. Despite what most think that is not a label of a fanatic, but simply a true Biblical Christian, Jesus stated we must be "born again, not of flesh, but of spirit." So although I desire for the world to see the light of Christ, I respect everyman's free will which was given by God. You don't have to choose Christ, you should, but you don't have too. These immigrants have come just like the Christians this country was founded by to be able to worship and live freely. Despite my personal desire for this world, I choose to allow them to do that, and offer a place for that to happen, America. In doing so I pray that they come to see that Christianity is real, and my God is The God. But that is for each man to decide on his own.
Two things that this country was founded on come to mind when I read this article. First, that this country is the only country in the world to have NO OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. Learning English is not a requirement for citizenship, because it's not a State censured language. If we fail to remember this, we fail to remember why it is our forefathers made this decision, We are a country for all people. True, I've never seen a Stop sign written in French or Spanish in downtown Kansas City, but our country was founded on the premise that it could. Secondly, we are a country established on the Constitution of the United States. A constitution that was designed to be adapted and changed over time. Why? Because we don't have it all figured out yet, and we hope to learn from our mistakes and time. This process is not possible without a third principle, Freedom of speech. Freedom of Speech allows those who are unhappy with this country to voice their opinion in safety and with the ability to change the system. With out this fundamental freedom women would not be able to vote, African Americans would still be slaves, and we all enjoy the freedom of being able to practice our own Spiritual walk. A father that Buddhist, a sister that’s Jewish, and me a Christian; not the standard American family, yet a family that could only have happened in America.
As a Christian, it grieves me to see our country turn from it's Christian roots, but I’m not surprising. I regret that this country has decided to remove God from our work places, our schools, and our government. However, they were never really needed. I worship my Father in my own life, without the "Ten commandments" being displayed in a court office, or school. My God is greater then my government, and my relationship is deeper then the law of man. In many nations people including missionaries from this country are killed everyday for being Christian, yet we complain they took a plaque off a wall. Our priorities are a little messed up on this. A gallop poll states that 39% of Americans attend church. Another gallop poll suggests that less then 20% of all church members actually have a relationship with Christ ("born again"). Roughly translated, that means 8% of Americans are going to Church to worship God. The rest just take up space. Yet so many people come out in droves to protest the removal of a plaque. The truth is this country as a whole doesn't love God, and hasn't for quite some time. Oddly enough, I'm ok with this, because a true relationship with Christ is based on having a personal relationship with him. If 80% of my fellow church goers don't know him, I can't expect them to understand that. So if 92% of this country doesn't truly believe in God, why do we expect the country as a whole to keep his Law on the wall? People don't get saved by reading the Ten Commandments on a plaque; they get saved by having an encounter with God and his word. Anything else is just decoration on a building.
I can't pass this on, because I don't have any enemies, true there are many that call me an enemy, but I am called by Christ to be a friend to all. And as I watch this country slip from it's Christian roots, I will work harder to express the love that God has given me, and asked me to share with the world.
|
] | | | | | |
