A History Lesson by Rachel Maddow
( Article by Thom Palmer )
September 2, 2016
"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!"
We learned those words in grade school, proudly accepting our nations new creed. At the bottom of this article, you'll find the first and second verse's combined, for a full context of the poem, and the message that France sent to the young nation. A message intended as a welcome as well as a reminder to us that we got it right. It is a gift given as a symbol of liberty, and to never forget who we are.
At midnight the morning of September 1st, 2016, Rachel Maddow did a live second show for the night. She felt this message was so important that she did not want to wait another day to send it. The earlier show was preempted by a very dark Trump rally, which only further fueled her fire to get this word out. Hats off to Professor Maddow for reminding us who we are, where we've been, and how important it is to use the past in order to guide us into the future in a way that honors the wishes of the founders as well as honors humanity itself. Liberty is not an easy thing to maintain. It requires both nobility and compassion, and a constant remembrance that it can vanish through fear and intimidation, racism and hate. It is always up to the American people to make the Statue of Liberty an extension of ourselves. Miss Liberty holds up the torch, but it's up to us to lift her high up into the air.
Click to view Rachel on Fire
in her historic 16 minute lesson of 9/1/16
"The New Colossus"
By Emma Lazarus
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
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
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