Liberty's image is one of strength, majesty, and hope, visible in her eternally raised right arm which carries the torch of freedom. Holding aloft a light that never fails, she represents hope to the hopeless, welcome to the poor, courage to the meek. Facing outward toward the ocean, her lamp is a beacon on stormy seas, drawing to her shores, those from afar who seek a better life. For these, and for countless others who embrace her message, the Statue of Liberty represents the Golden Door.
What is the Golden Door?
It is the entrance into liberty and freedom from oppression that is the promise of America - a land, a people, a way of life.
It is also the freedom of spirit and of choice that was declared an inalienable right in the Declaration of Independence - a document whose date of execution, July 4th, 1776, is inscribed on the tablet she carries. The Statue welcomes all to this door - the lost, the needy, the rejected, the exiled. She invites them to step through it into freedom.
Liberty's comforting presence is increasingly needed when the sea of world events becomes more stormy, the waves higher. In times of turbulence, her light is reassuring, her presence, a guarantor of safety.
This is perhaps the culmination of a dream, this dream has been shared by millions of people who have gathered together to accomplish something the rest of the world only dreams of and that is to be free, truly free. Free to exercise the choice to say here is home, here is the chance I have dreamed of, here is the opportunity I have envisioned.
This opportunity has been a beacon to millions upon millions of people around the world since July 4, 1776. This promise has been extended to those millions upon millions of people who have collectively raised up a country like none other ever seen in the world.
This country has been dedicated to the premise that every person is important, every person is relevant, and every person has a say. There is none other like it in the world, and there shall be no other.
There are those who would extinguish the light that is emitted from her torch with groundless regulation, and increasing bureaucracy, and say it is for the good of the people. Yet, is it? As individuals who gather together to form a body to decide the path that should be followed toward the goal of continuing freedom Americans have always been known to be a generous people. A people who would in times of need extend the hand of friendship and support to those in need. We have always been blessed with prosperity when we looked to assist others throughout the world.
But now there are those who would diminish that perception in favor of raising their banner in place of the”RED, WHITE, AND BLUE” a banner that has signaled safety and trust to the world for two hundred and thirty five years and replace it with one that would depict a ruling edifice of regulation upon regulation designed to limit that hard fought for freedom that we have all come to cherish and revere in the name of protection of the people. They would take from everyone and “Redistribute” those gains to those who have no entitlement to them, they would limit all the rights integrated within those freedoms in favor of control.
Here within the borders of this country is the greatest threat to the freedom the Lady in the Harbor has stood for since her arrival on these shores in 1886. Paul Auster wrote that "Bartholdi's gigantic effigy was originally intended as a monument to the principles of international republicanism,
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, retain supreme control over the government, at least in theory, and where offices of state are not granted through heritage. The common modern definition of a republic is a government having a head of state who is not a monarch. The word "republic" is derived from the Latin phrase res publica, which can be translated as "a public affair", and often used to describe a state using this form of government.
Now more than ever, the commonality of the people of the United States must surface while partisanship must be brought to a halt. As we are “We the People” we must put aside our differences and look to the cancer of socialism that is taking hold in our country and excise it before we totally loose everything so many have worked for, bled for, and died for to ensure that we have the right to say “We are America, and we shall continue.”
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