The Immigrant: A Tribute to My Father
One of the things I want to write about on this site is my Genealogy, my Family History.
My Father's Macedonian story is a fascinating one, and one I know very little about other than that he came to America for a life of freedom.
Let me introduce you to my Father:
My Father fought Socialism and Communism,
And that's ok.
He sabotaged one of Tito's Railroads,
And lost an eye that day!
My Father wanted to be free,
So he could live his life his way.
He fibbed to Yugoslavia's backers,
And came to the USA!
My Father immediately got his Green Card,
So he could legally stay.
He believed in Democracy,
And earning an honest living all the live long day!
The big difference between my Father and those who are coming here, and living here, illegally, is just that:
They do not want to do the right thing and enter here legally, or come forward and get their citizenship or permission to live and work here legally.
I am The Mad Macedonian, a first generation American Citizen, and damn well very Fucking Proud of it!!
So sue me! I hear the ACLU's free at the moment. :-D
When I first wrote that piece, and the opinion below it, over 4 years ago, I got a comment from somone named Andrew:
My response:
You are right, Andrew, we are all immigrants here, and in different era's of our nation's history, when rules were different, our ancestors set down roots in this land under many different circumstances.
In my Father's place, I'd probably have gone to Canada, or any other freedom loving nation that would have me.
But, that's just me. I can't speak for him, since I, sadly, never took the opportunity to ask him what he would have done when I had the chance.
RE: Escaping a civil war where you feared for your life...
The "why" of my Father's leaving his homeland are shrouded in the mystery of two conflicting statements.
The 1st is the story he told my Mom about how he lost his left eye.
The 2nd is the story he told interviewers, in an Italian Refugee Camp, about how he lost his left eye.
The one indisputable FACT, I have, is that he was sponsored for immigration to the U.S., and so there was no question that he would immediately get a Green Card upon his arrival.
It isn't that Americans don't like Mexicans or any other ethnic group, it's just that some of us have serious problems with ILLEGAL immigrants.
There have been quotas, throughout our history, for legal immigration of one ethnic group or another, and I have no problem with that.
Legalizing all illegals, in the country, and at the same time closing our borders with a beefed up financial support for a law enforcement/ military presence to enforce the law might be worth putting on the table in the open debate that this country needs to have on our illegal immigration problem.
Andrew never followed up, and that's too bad.
Anyone doing genealogical research will discover things about how their ancestors got here that might give them pause.
It's part of what makes our research fun, and interesting, and is nothing to shrink away from.
What if he couldn't get a green card? Should he have left and gone back home?
I mean this respectfully, but if you were suffering crushing poverty and looking into the faces of your starving children, or were escaping a civil war where you feared for your life, would you let the (sometimes) arbitrary procedures and laws of a nation-state determine your choices?
We've all broken laws, either because we were lazy, or we thought the laws were arbitrary and stupid, or because the alternatives were just intolerable. If I were desperate enough, there isn't much I wouldn't do, short of hurting an innocent other.
It seems to me this emphasis on legal immigrants, is just a code word to talk about those kinds of immigrants we don't like (ie, Mexicans). What if the law didn't allow your father in, or what if the law was changed to allow 10X the number of Mexican immigrants in, would you change your mind about them?
Or are you saying that your only problem with them is that they are law-breakers? So the people who think this have never broken a law? Had a few drinks and driven home?
If I were President, I'd just legalize all Mexicans here illegally - then what would everyone say? Um...I guess they're okay now?
Anyway, I know this was just a nice story about your Dad. But we're we're all immigrants here.