National Family

There was a swearing-in ceremony in Vicksburg National Military Park Friday, September 17, and among the 42 brand new and very proud American citizens was one special lady of Argentine descent of whom I am honored to know as my sister-in-law.  She has been a member of our family for 6 years, and I am pleased to now welcome her to our bigger, national family. 

This national family I’m referring to is all of us Americans.  All families have a family tree, and our national family tree has roots reaching from many different countries.  Indeed, with the exception of Native Americans, we all can trace our roots back to some foreign land. 

Earlier this year another very close friend of mine joined our national family.  He is of Indian descent, and we worked together for several years.  He wasn’t a federal employee as I am because he was not yet a citizen when he lived here in Jackson, but he worked for our office thru cooperation with a university.  He is very possibly the most genuine, most kind-hearted, and most dedicated person that I’ve ever befriended, and I celebrate the fact that he is now also my national brother.

Back when I was a student I did a little time during summer and Christmas holidays at a poultry plant in Scott County.  I came to know many immigrants, of both documented and non-documented status.  My personal experience at that time with my non-documented co-workers was that they were very hard workers, cheerfully accepting any job available, and doing that job to the best of their ability.  Their work ethic and performance was excellent, as their livelihood depended on it. 

There are issues that arise with undocumented immigrants due in large part to legal inconsistencies from one state to another.  One example of an inconsistency among the states is the ability to obtain a driver’s license.  While a driver’s license is a state issued entity, its importance as the modern de facto universal method of photo identification has far reaching consequences.

It would make sense to me to have national consistency when dealing with issues of our national family.  One state, going it alone in their attempt to discriminate against a group of people can deteriorate the perceived social diplomacy of our entire country much the way that one small church threatening to burn copies of a religious book can undermine the regard of our entire national family. 

Even as a conservative (albeit, moderate and reasonable), I can still appreciate and celebrate the historical significance of our first Black President and our first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.  It truly is a remarkable ascent in both cases.  Such events inspire whole new groups of people, and they reflect the diversity of our national family. 

My hope is that our national family will learn to play well with others, and that we will remember that our family tree has a strong system of far-reaching roots that would make Felder Rushing  proud.