Dear Fellow Citizens of the United States, Please don't forget where we came from. "Give me your huddled masses..."

Dear Fellow Citizens of the United States,
Please don't forget where we came from. 
That would be....pretty much everywhere. I realize for some it will mean swallowing a gigantic fear of the assumed - that our being a haven for Syrian (and other) refugees will bite us back in the end, BUT, I believe that welcoming them, well, it's the right thing to do.
Yes, possibly there are some people mixed in with the refugees that are out to get Americans, but I have noticed that there seems to be plenty of U.S. on U.S. crime and hate these days. 
I just read that 26 governors have stated that they do not want Syrian refugees and that they will refuse them. I don't know what will end up happening, but I ask you: 
"What if the tide were turned?" "What if it were you?" in the shoes of a refugee, seeking asylum? Putting matters of religion and culture aside for a moment, we are humans on one planet. None of us are better than our neighbor.....and that's exactly what we all are: NEIGHBORS.
I have this crazy idea that the world is better overall if we are accepting of each other, regardless of background and station. I also think that we have forgotten some of our own roots. There doesn't seem to be any perfect solution for finding the right balance of humanitarianism and security, but I wonder if pre-judgement and assumption, heck, even keeping religion out of it - whether or not things will be OK in the end.
                        

The New Colossus

~ Emma Lazarus (1883)

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name 

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand 

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command 

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. 

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she 

With silent lips. "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!"

Earth from the ISS by Astronaut Andre Kuipers

My NOLA at #K10

My few words on this day where many are having indescribable feelings and experiences are surely of little comfort and even simple bearing on any, save myself, but I do feel moved to share some of my observations.
I was not here during hurricane Katrina. I was in Milledgeville, GA, watching with great stress what was about to happen and what did happen. Though I'll never understand exactly what NOLA went through, I did understand some and it hurt because, being from Charleston and having experienced our massive devastation of hurricane Hugo in 1989, I understood what many in land-locked places had never experienced. I felt, as many "outsiders" did, helpless to do or say anything that would or could make any positive difference. That year, I had my Central HS choirs give performance benefits to raise money for Ben Franklin HS, not knowing that 9 months after this day, I would have signed a contract at UNO and be making three trips to New Orleans to search for scarce housing. There were boats and refrigerators and half of some houses in the streets. Charleston had prepared me for this. What it couldn't prepare me for was having students who returned throughout the year, some of whom came home in September to find to skeletons of "lost" family members dead in their own houses. It couldn't prepare me for the anger that so many felt and (and feel) and shared quite openly at the drop of a hat. It could not prepare me for the blank eyes of shock and the thread of hopelessness that was still here. Many thought I was crazy to move here after what you were going through and the full aftermath of wrongs that befell the city's residents (insurance, dislocation, despair, U.S. FAILS, etc.) and wondered if I'd be here long. I wondered too.
I came.
I stayed.
I learned.
I watched. I watched as you picked up your feet and began walking again. I watched and participated as the city stumbled and grabbed hold of its spirit again. It may sound silly, but I feel like I saw a haze in your eyes lifted after about six years. I've seen you smile again (especially on the streets after the Superbowl win!). You rose from it all into a resurrected and thriving city full of returned and vibrant communities. There is much work still to be done, but we do it together. One of the things I appreciated seeing around facebookland this week was that while "Katrina was big, God is bigger."
New Orleans is home to me.
I was welcomed and accepted (even my puns) smile emoticon
I absolutely love living here and it was the best move I've ever made! It is a noble, crazy, cultured, inclusive, and exciting city. It has been broken and yet it stands the test of time with grace. I hope to do that too! (Photo taken on my first drive through the ninth ward the first week I got here) ‪#‎Katrina10‬‪ #K10 #Katrina