The New Colossus

The other day I came across, by chance, the text of Emma Lazarus' poem on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. And I read the words out loud, as I thought about the ridiculous debates we are having in this country about "illegal" immigration...

"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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I wonder if I could show these lines to the Tea Party-ers and the neo-cons of this country, if it would make a difference. I guess not.