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Post by achebeautiful on May 20, 2006 17:38:51 GMT -5
Here is a poem by Ray Bradbury, author of "Fahrenheit 451" and numerous other books. The poem was in Wednesday's "Wall Street Journal."
America: An ode to immigrants.
BY RAY BRADBURY
We are the dream that other people dream. The land where other people land When late at night They think on flight And, flying, here arrive Where we fools dumbly thrive ourselves.
Refuse to see We be what all the world would like to be. Because we hive within this scheme The obvious dream is blind to us. We do not mind the miracle we are, So stop our mouths with curses. While all the world rehearses Coming here to stay. We busily make plans to go away.
How dumb! newcomers cry, arrived from Chad. You're mad! Iraqis shout, We'd sell our souls if we could be you. How come you cannot see the way we see you? You tread a freedom forest as you please. But, damn! you miss the forest for the trees. Ten thousand wanderers a week Engulf your shore, You wonder what their shouting's for, And why so glad?
Run warm those souls: America is bad? Sit down, stare in their faces, see! You be the hoped-for thing a hopeless world would be. In tides of immigrants that this year flow You still remain the beckoning hearth they'd know. In midnight beds with blueprint, plan and scheme You are the dream that other people dream.
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Post by achebeautiful on May 20, 2006 17:45:47 GMT -5
Here is a portion of Tammy Bruce's comments on the poem. Tammy, by the way, is a huge fan of Mr. Bradbury and considers him one of her heros:
"I'll go out on a limb here and note that his last line of that second verse may in fact refer to the self-destructiveness inherent in a belief that either we are the problem for the world, or the USA is not worth defending.
It seems to me to also be a call to the American people to reject the argument that America is bad, the rhetoric that the "world hates us," and instead reflect on why everyone around the world still dreams of coming here. It is that attitude we must embrace. It's that love that should inform and shape our own view of ourselves."
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Post by achebeautiful on May 20, 2006 17:51:01 GMT -5
I really find that to be an interesting thought.
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Post by achebeautiful on May 20, 2006 17:56:07 GMT -5
And here's a reply to the poem from a poster on another forum:
"The U.S. is a lush "Freedom Forest" populated with people from all over the world who niche themselves according to work ethic, dreams, abilities, and of course dumb luck, just as seen in nature - but not just nature of any sort, but a lush tropics, flowering robustly, capable of creating extravagant beauty. Capitalism, Democracy, and Rule of Law provide the opportunity that is necessary to succeed, the equivalent of a fertile soil, and plenty of sun and water. Find your niche and strive to succeed - that's America. And so many of us don't see it, we take it for granted for we can't see the Freedom Forest for the trees."
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