"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!" ~Emma Lazarus
The Statue of Liberty turned 130 years old on October 28th. What an incredible milestone for a landmark that represents so much of our country's history.
What if Lady Liberty could tell us her stories? The stories of what she has seen and heard. This strong, green, lady that stands tall over the New York Harbor would tell us tales that we would never forget.
The quote I used above has come to represent the Statue of Liberty in a lot of ways. She originally was a gift from France. She was a beacon of hope for the many immigrants that would come across our borders.
Lady Liberty would tell us the stories of the immigrants that crossed our borders at Ellis Island. She would tell us the stories of the faces she greeted as they took their first steps onto American soil. She greeted people of every country and color. She greeted people that spoke in ways that she was unfamiliar with. She would see faces filled with joy, tears, and fear. She was the beacon of hope.
She would tell stories about the lucky immigrants who began their wonderful journey as citizens in our free land. Not everyone was so lucky, though. With the stories of citizenship also came stories of the families that stayed at Ellis Island longer than expected. Some families had to stay at Ellis Island to be treated for foreign diseases. They could not enter the country until they were cured. Then some families were denied access and had to stay on Ellis Island until they were able to become citizens.
She would tell stories of natural disasters that most people would not survive, but yet she stood strongly through it all. She survived acid rain, Hurricane Sandy, and the winter storms that would hit New York each year.
She would tell stories of how little people with minimal technology were able to build buildings that kissed the sky and still remain to this day.
She would tell the story of a plane that miraculously landed in her Hudson River. She would tell us how everyone survived and how the boats went across to help rescue everyone on the plane. The true hero was named Sully.
She would tell the story of a beautiful Tuesday morning. The sky was a beautiful clear blue. There was not a cloud in the sky. Then two planes hit the tallest two towers and her city went into chaos. Smoke was everywhere, people were screaming, sirens were blaring. Then they fell. One at a time. Hundreds of boats went back and forth across the Harbor, bringing people to safety. It was the worst thing she would have ever seen.
However, that wasn't the end of her story. Her city rebuilt after that awful Tuesday. Her city rebuilt a tower that was even taller than the two before.
She would tell us why America is a great country. America is built on the backbone of immigration. She is a symbol that anyone can become an American, no matter who you are. America is great because, when you knock us down, we will rebuild better than ever before.
The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of the strength, hope, and values that America is built on.
So I conclude this article by saying Happy Birthday Lady Liberty!
