Journals

I was on the uptown 4 train last night, standing near the back of the train, left hand on the overhead rail, plugged into my iPod and staring at the less-than-stimulating subway banner ads.  After a good 15 seconds of unsatisfying visual stimulation I glanced down to see the man sitting right below me studying English.     This man, of obvious Latin descent, and by all likelihood a laborer as highlighted by his beige Timberland boots, paint stained blue jeans, and well worn sweatshirt was sitting there intently focused on this handwritten, multiple paged, Spanish to English vocabulary list.  The train would stop, doors would open, people would rush out, new people would rush in, all the while the man's gaze never changing.   To me, this visual is the essence of America, what it stands for, and what it should always be.  I can imagine my own ancestors sailing through the New York harbor with their battered German to English dictionaries trying to understand the language of this new land.   As immigration becomes an increasingly hotter topic on the political landscape I find myself caring more about this issue than any other.  Even I find this somewhat surprising for a fifth generation American.  Not to belittle the importance of social security reform, healthcare reform, or the economy.  Those are each important issues in their own right, but unless we completely remove our capitalistic nature, the private sector, will always be able to create opportunity and the individual will always have some, no matter how small, control over their retirement, health care, and economic standing.  And no, I'm not as conservative on these issues as it may sound.   However, the difference is that immigration is completely up to our federal government and the laws they pass.   Historically, or at least for the last 200+ years, the United States has been the land of opportunity, the place where people risk all for a better shot at "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  Immigration is fundamental to who we are, or at least who we were.  Thus, before jumping down the path of arguing the pros and cons of amnesty, a national wall, and quotas, we as a country need an identity check.  Simply stated, has America become just another culture characterized by Hollywood, football, and apple pie or does it still stand for something more?   If only I would have asked my friend on the 4 train.