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LADY LIBERTY LIFTS HER LAMP
AT LONG LAST
At long last, the “beacon-hand” of the Statue of Liberty “Glows world-wide
welcome.” For the first time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the public
can visit the beloved icon of freedom. It was feared the Statue of Liberty
would become a target of terrorists planning another attack on America.
In defiance, the Statue of Liberty reopened in the wake of a heightened
terror alert in New York and the nation’s capital. At the same time that
security roadblocks are cropping up near the White House and multiplying
around the Capitol Building in Washington, visitors are teeming to the
symbol of our hard-earned freedom. It a compelling study in contrasts.
Majestically towering 151 feet toward the sky, Lady Liberty has retained all
of her regal beauty and glory. She is aging well in a world changed forever
by the events of September 11, 2001. Reflecting the new and grim reality,
the National Park Service has spent $19.6 million over the past three years
to upgrade and to tighten security at the famous site.
Eagle-eyed and heavily-armed SWAT teams patrol the landmark. Sightseers are
screened and not allowed to go beyond the base of the Statue of Liberty. Yet
they stand in awe of the symbol of freedom. They are not alone.
According to the National Park Service, over twelve million immigrants to
the United States passed through the portal of Ellis Island from 1892 to
1954. As they sailed into the shoals of America on freedom-bound ships and
vessels, they passed beneath the watchful and welcoming gaze of the Statue
of Liberty.
When the people of France gave the colossal statue to America in a gesture
of goodwill between the two nations, they christened it “Liberty
Enlightening the World.” Her eponymous name says it all.
Few people, however, realize that at one point in its history the Statue of
Liberty served as a lighthouse for ships entering the port of New York. That
is apropos. Freedom is a lighthouse. Accordingly, liberty is always a beacon
in the night. It is also a warning signal of what it costs to be free.
As we wage our fight against terrorism, we must safeguard the freedom of our
citizens. Each of us knows the price tag of freedom. We must never take
foolish liberties with it.
That is why the image of the lady of liberty is embedded into our collective
consciousness and etched on our worldview. In fact, images of the Lady
Liberty are replicated throughout these United States. For example, the
Goddess Liberty stands atop the U.S. Capitol Building in all her glory and
her grandeur.
Her image of splendor is also found above and behind the Speaker’s Chair in
the U.S. House of Representatives. As every school child in Texas knows, the
Goddess Liberty stands at the top of the Capitol Dome in Austin.
And, of course, the Goddess of Liberty finds her avatar in the Statue of
Liberty. In each case, liberty is always depicted as a woman and rightly so.
She is, in the words of Emma Lazarus’ famous sonnet, “The Mother of Exiles.”
Although many people have never taken a tour of the famous statue in New
York Harbor, they are familiar with the last stanza of Lazarus’ poem “The
New Colossus,” which is found on a plaque at the base of the landmark.
”Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shores
Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Elected to Congress in 1992, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson is the
former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
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