13thWR

AMERICAN GENERATIONS / by John C. Erianne

" I have never been able to conceive how any rational being could propose happiness to himself from the exercise of power over others."

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." - Thomas Jefferson

I've been thinking a lot about my family tree lately. I've been puzzling over this strange accident of birth that has made me an American citizen.

I can trace my roots back to the early 1700's, when my mother's family first set foot here. My maternal grandfather's people were Dutch-German Protestants, expelled from Germany for their beliefs at the point of a bayonet.

My maternal grandmother's family arrived here from Ireland in the 1850's as a result of the Potato Famine. The rich, American soil gave them food and a place to call home.

My father's family originated in Naples, Italy and came to America in the late 1880's after many years living a nomadic existence due, in part, to the many wars and social upheavals in Europe during the 19^th Century. My grandfather reportedly spoke seven languages fluently having lived in as many different countries before making the United States his home. He fought in the Spanish-American War, but was a pipe-fitter by trade. My father, the seventh of eleven children, was born on a South Jersey farm in 1923. He lived through the Great Depression and served on a battleship during World War II. My mother was born in West Virginia during the Depression and was later a supply Sergeant in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict. She and my father met when they both worked for Owens-Illinois glass factory during the post-war Industrial boom. They married late in life, and I came along in 1967.

I was watching the news one night after the September 11 attacks and this Lebanese-American woman was being interviewed about the harassment she and her children were suffering because of their dark skin and Muslim beliefs. She said something that really struck a chord with me : "I'm a ninth generation American - I was born here. My kids were born here. When do I get to be a real American?"

By birth I am a United States citizen. But is that what makes me an American? The United States is an immigrant nation, after all. Our forefathers -- whether they came here with a land charter from the king or came here in chains did not come here as a result of some mysterious birthright. For many of our ancestors, it wasn't even a choice, but a necessary condition of survival. Are those who come to America by choice less worthy of citizenship and basic human rights than those whose only claim to citizenship is an accident of birth? And does that mean that their children and their children's children aren't really Americans? I challenge anyone who thinks so to take a good hard look at his own family tree - you might be surprised at what you'd find hanging from it's branches.