Pain - butt - II

Today Quad City Interfaith held a prayer vigil. We met at the Irish Memorial, outside the Davenport Ground Transportation Center. We had maybe 40 people there, more than I expected.

At the Irish Memorial there is a sculpture representing the Irish immigrant experience. The parallels between the Irish experience and the Mexican experience are stunning. The Irish that came ashore during the Civil War were often greeted by someone telling them, "Go see that nice Army recruiter over there. Don't worry about the missus, she and the kiddos will be cared for." So they went and fought a war that wasn't theirs, in the hope that this would help them enter into American society. In some versions of the Dream Act, one way of qualifying for permanent legal residency involves military service. The more things change. . .

Some time ago I saw that there was a newspaper article in one of the local papers. It complained about all these foreigners that really should learn to speak English. Sound familiar? Only, this wasn't about the Mexican immigrants. It was about 120 years ago, and about the Germans. Those of us of German ancestry tend to forget, this was our experience, too.

Our first speaker spoke of her experience as an immigrant. She was powerful and moving. She was brought to the U.S. when she was three. She couldn't get a driver's license at the same time as other kids. She can't get a Social Security number, and functioning without that is nearly impossible. But she has managed. Some of the legal obstacles for her are moving. She's now 21, and since she came here when she was three, she's never known any life but that of an American. But this American has to live in the shadows.

We prayed. All three of the local TV stations has news crews there. I think the Quad City Times had someone there. I had a speaking part, jointly with a good friend, Nora Dvorak. Afterward, one of the TV stations, WHBF (TV 4) interviewed me, and a bit of that interview aired on the 6:00 news. I'm glad they chose the part they did; our purpose, since there is movement on the political scene, was to make sure our elected representatives know that we're watching. And we'll do more things to raise awareness and attention.

I can look at my students and tell them that the system isn't perfect, and probably won't be in my lifetime. But we can do something, and what we can do, we will do. Life will never be perfectly fair, completely just. But we can make your world, my marvelous young folks, a little more fair, a little more just. And may God bless your dreams and your journey.

I want these kids to have a chance at any career they choose. I want them to be able to go to college. And when they graduate, I hope they think to send me an invitation to their ceremony. I will be in the audience, cheering their name like a stone fool. And I will hold up a big sign:

I TOLD YOU SO!!!