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Who has a dream

I shall start by confessing my ignorance and confusion regarding the Dream Act. I have been living under the impression that the United States has had a military provision for citizenship since the birth of our nation. I was under the impression that during the Korean and Vietnam War this provision was used heavily to fill the gaps left by those who turned to Guard services to avoid a sure shipment to overseas duty.

It would be a small thing to say that I am shocked to know that no such provision existed and therefore we need the Dream Act (http://dreamact.info/). I am dismayed by the resistance to the act from Congress given our national history. Who are the people who have voted against the dream act? (http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00278 ). What is their motivation? These questions beg for answers if we are to move forward as a nation.

I would say this movement is a fear response from WASPs but Michelle Malkin is also against the Dream Act. Something seems to have a grip on a select few in this country who forget how their family came to be in this country. As a child my classmates would yell, “Go back to Africa.” to me. In confusion, I would ask why for although I had moved from California to Mississippi I was still an American. The response to my question was always, “That’s where y’all are from.” It was at that stage that I would let it be known that the land they farmed once belonged to my Choctaw great-grandfather, that my Chickasaw ancestors were ran from there homes into hiding, that my African great-great grandmother healed their forefathers from illnesses that would have lead to certain death and that my grandfather fought in WWII. I was and am an American get over it.

My point in telling my story is genetic diversity is a good thing for this nation built on immigration. This country is not just for WASPs although there was a drive to wipe my Native American ancestors off this continent 9 http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/manifest_destiny_overview.html). Immigrants have allowed us to stay innovative by bringing a different perspective of life. I shall not list the things immigrants have given to America. Those few (5 people in the Senate) who could not for some reason reflect on their own family history to vote in favor of the Dream Act should take time to do so now. As they reflect, they should think of how their American born sons and daughters did not enlist to fight in either of the current wars, as did the children of “illegal” immigrants (http://americasvoiceonline.org/research/entry/fact_sheet_immigrants_and_the_military ).


Additional reading:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704858304575498072319915164.html

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR5281:

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