Lady Liberty still welcomes

Like most Americans, when I first heard the news that visitor's access to the Statue of Liberty's crown will remain closed due to security concerns, I was saddened, even angry. Angry at the terrorists who'd won another victory over our freedoms. Never would I be able to gaze across the New York skyline from this famous viewpoint.

And then, as I pondered this lost liberty, an experience that countless people have shared over the 120 years since the beautiful gift to America- indeed, the world- arrived from France, it occurred to me that the most significant view of Lady Liberty remains: towering above the island upon which she stands in the New York Harbor, she still beckons to the tired, the poor, the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of" the teeming shores of oppressed nations, "the homeless, tempest-tost" souls from around the world, to whom Lady Liberty still lifts her lamp of freedom, "beside the golden door".

Awed by what she has symbolized to millions of people across the globe and thru generations, I can only imagine what feelings of excitement, anticipation, gratitude, relief, hope, and joy must have swelled the hearts of those lucky immigrants for whom Ellis Island was a portal to this great land of freedom and opportunity.

What volume of tears that must have washed the crowded decks of the countless ships in the endless parade of humanity that made it to the welcome shores of our blessed country. Tears of thankfulness, joy, and relief as weary refugees from troubled lands completed long and arduous journeys thru fear and oppression, into the light of security and freedom that our country promises. Tears of saddness and regret for those loved ones left behind or lost along the way.

I can only imagine what exhilaration and inspiration lifted their spirits, as they lifted their eyes to the horizon that revealed itself as they neared the harbor, catching their first glimpse of Her, beckoning them to our free and prosperous nation.

Though access to Her crown has been denied

for the forseeable future, the freedoms and

opportunities that She symbolizes are not denied to anyone who chooses to make the

most of their talents and ambition, and calls

this great country their home.

Rather than the view of New York from Her

crown, our view of Her captures the essence of

Her beauty and meaning.

Brad