We proclaim on the statue if liberty:
"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
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name,
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "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!"
And yet here, in our neighborhoods and our cities, our farmlands and suburbs are hungry children, homeless mothers, foreclosed on families, and for me it was all caused by being terminally ill.
We have some programs in place, but mostly we do very little to nothing for our own Sick, homeless and huddled masses.
The Statue and Poem, by Emma Lazarus
The Statue of Liberty was originally called "Liberty Enlightening the World," and this is truly her task - to enlighten mankind to the noble ideals of freedom and equality that belong to each one, and to hold high the standard of hope that light will always triumph over darkness. This is the promise represented in the Statue - that through every conflict, war, or loss, through every dispossession or abandonment of principle, the torch of freedom will continue to be held high.
Do we really do this? As I sit in my home waiting for the Sheriff to knock on the door and put me out? Are we really there for the sick? I stare at bills that keep on rolling in at me, for what Medicare does not cover, and the time before Medicare with no insurance.
I am very tired, I do not want to do this anymore. I have been sick a long time now. I was diagnosed over 6 years ago, but the last 2 years I have gotten progressively worse and worse. There is no compassionate care for us, the terminally ill. There is no Light by a Golden door,
I was homeless 25 years ago now, I swore it would never happen again to me. but Here I am facing it all over again. who has my families back? I was a hard worker, a good worker... Who is there for us now?
No one that is who. As I said there is no golden door for the poor and sick in America. So keep your statue of Liberty facing to the European Immigrants who come here. While we suffer, struggle, go hungry, be homeless and have ruined crushed lives. My last position paid me 105,000, now I make 19,000 and it took 2 years to get that. Using every dime I had saved into keeping us alive. While my electric bill increased 72%, gas and food increased over 50%.
I have gone from workaholic to sedentary, from always on the move, to barely able to walk. I am of no use anymore, I am simply a burden. Some one else to clean my home, someone else to help me get dressed, put my socks on for me for God's sake, I do not want this Half Life anymore.
I have begun to plan my departure.