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A Young Immigrant’s Poem to America
American Thinker ^ | 7 Sep, 2026 | Luis Gonzalez |

Posted on 09/07/2026 4:41:18 AM PDT by MtnClimber

In the late 1960s, a boy left Havana in the middle of the night, and days later, he was standing on Merritt Island, Florida.

I was that boy.

I didn’t know anything about American exceptionalism, about the great argument over liberty and government. I knew I had come to America, and almost immediately America began showing me things I had never seen: a new bicycle, chewing gum, Superman comics newer than 1960, ordinary pleasures that felt like evidence of a larger freedom.

And there were rockets. They rose almost every night. I didn’t understand the science. I only knew something extraordinary was happening, and that the future had been waiting for my arrival before roaring across Merritt Island on columns of fire.

For thousands of years, the world was an old place. Human beings walked, rode animals, sailed with the wind, cooked with fire, and lit the darkness with candles. Civilizations rose and fell, but the basic human experience remained stubbornly familiar.

Then, in 1776, the world roared.

America was where the Age of Discovery, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment became a living experiment. And with America came a question that changed the human condition: What if?

What if the old limits were not limits at all? What if a human being were free to wonder, experiment, invent, fail, and try again? What if a person could look at the world as it was and imagine it as it could be?

America didn’t invent curiosity. It created a place where curiosity could run. A thought became an experiment, an experiment became an invention, an invention became an industry that transformed the lives of millions. Someone looked at darkness and asked, What if we could make our own light?

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: refugee
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1 posted on 09/07/2026 4:41:18 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

Some immigrants are true refugees. Most are not. Just here for the welfare.


2 posted on 09/07/2026 4:42:32 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

For the vast amount of American history, there was almost no welfare for anyone from the government.


3 posted on 09/07/2026 4:52:23 AM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: MtnClimber

MIGA
Make Immigration Great Again


4 posted on 09/07/2026 4:55:20 AM PDT by BykrBayb (Lung cancer free since 11/9/07. Colon cancer free since 7/7/15. PTL ~ Þ)
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To: MtnClimber

“”Someone looked at darkness and asked, What if we could make our own light?””

***

And likewise, since the dawn of time, there have been entities that loathe the light and that have been seeking to turn light back into darkness. Those same entities would love to ‘put the lights out’ on America. Let’s not let them.

There is a process for vetting new arrivals in America. A legal process for “immigrants” seeking a new life and a fresh start. Those coming here illegally are deliberately skipping past those vetting steps because most of them would fail miserably to pass the test. We need to treat each and every one of those illegals as what they are... law-breaking threats to America. Send them back to whatever s-hole they came from and if they want to come back legally, that’s up to them.


5 posted on 09/07/2026 5:06:30 AM PDT by Danie_2023 (I'm America First, but I stand by Israel and against 'anyone' that acts against America or Israel.)
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To: BykrBayb

Make Immigration Go Away


6 posted on 09/07/2026 5:08:41 AM PDT by bankwalker (Feminists, like all Marxists, are ungrateful parasites.)
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To: bankwalker

I’m old enough to remember when most immigrants came here legally, and were valuable members of society. That’s not the same immigration we see today.


7 posted on 09/07/2026 5:14:18 AM PDT by BykrBayb (Lung cancer free since 11/9/07. Colon cancer free since 7/7/15. PTL ~ Þ)
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To: MtnClimber
As one who was born, came of age and grew up in Miami during the 1960's, I was influenced by what I saw from the Cuban migration. While the older generations of long-time residents of Miami were put off by the influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants, my generation found new friends in school.

And their parents who gave up so much of their life's work and belongings in Cuba were among the most hard-working and ambitious people I have known. They had no choice but to use their abilities and education to build a future for their families. They did not ask or beg for handouts. Sure, there were going to be criminal elements along with gangs, but no more than existed prior to their exodus.

Aside from the language and cultural differences that coexist, Miami has now become a Cuban town. I don't mean that in a negative way, because it is a thriving city, and just as American as any other place in our country. But compared with other cities experiencing mass migrations, it is truly an exceptional one.

8 posted on 09/07/2026 5:19:04 AM PDT by omni-scientist
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To: MtnClimber

Okay, fine. Now GTFO.


9 posted on 09/07/2026 5:19:47 AM PDT by Wilderness Conservative (Death to the DEATH TO AMERICA, Democrats.)
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To: omni-scientist

Net net the Cubans only made Miami a sh*thole. The Haitians and Venezuelans made it worse. Ain’t diversity grand


10 posted on 09/07/2026 5:22:14 AM PDT by Wilderness Conservative (Death to the DEATH TO AMERICA, Democrats.)
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To: MtnClimber

Had a friend in high school from Cuba in 1964. Yea, they escaped and he detested the whole Castro thing and communism/socialism lie. Even one of our teachers signed Raul’s year book “See you in Havana”. Now, 60+ years later....nope!


11 posted on 09/07/2026 6:28:01 AM PDT by rktman (Patriotism not 'hateriotism' !. Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. 🇺🇸)
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To: BykrBayb

My mother in law(deceased) made it through Ellis Island in 1962. She had a sponsor (Baptist church) in Wisconsin and did the whole deal the right way. My wife was smuggled in inside her moms tummy. 😊👍🇺🇸


12 posted on 09/07/2026 6:31:32 AM PDT by rktman (Patriotism not 'hateriotism' !. Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. 🇺🇸)
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To: MtnClimber

Beautiful! God bless such immigrants as he.


13 posted on 09/07/2026 10:18:14 AM PDT by Albion Wilde (The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens. --DJT)
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To: Prov1322

Ping!


14 posted on 09/07/2026 10:18:28 AM PDT by Albion Wilde (The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens. --DJT)
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To: MtnClimber

All immigrants want more immigration. It’s the one thing they all have in common.


15 posted on 09/07/2026 10:30:09 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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To: BykrBayb

MIGA Make Immigration Go Away.


16 posted on 09/07/2026 10:31:19 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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To: MtnClimber

Luis used to be a frequent Poster here at Free Republic. He left during the 2008 Election Campaign over a difference of opinion about McStain/Palin.

He can be found if one reads his Bio at the end of his Columns! He had a lot of friends at FR!


17 posted on 09/07/2026 11:28:03 AM PDT by Cyber Liberty (H.L. Mencken: "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.")
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To: Cyber Liberty

OK, thanks.


18 posted on 09/07/2026 11:33:18 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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