At this time of year, remember America’s fabulous legacy, not the current xenophobia

Every year during this season, I share one of my favorite children’s stories with my congregation.

Barbara Cohen’s poignant book “Molly’s Pilgrim” tells the tale of a Russian-Jewish mother and daughter who come to America as immigrants during the first half of the 20th century. Molly’s third-grade classmates make fun of her Yiddish accent and homemade clothes, and when the class learns about Thanksgiving, Molly feels so ill-at-ease, she longs to return to Russia. But the teacher, Miss Stickley, comforts her and teaches all of the students an important lesson when she reminds them that Molly’s journey is quintessentially American:

“Listen to me, all of you. Molly’s mother is a Pilgrim. She’s a modern pilgrim. She came here, just like the Pilgrims long ago, so she could worship God in her own way, in peace and freedom.”

As “Molly’s Pilgrim” points out, Thanksgiving is, at heart, a celebration of immigrants and refugees. More than any American holiday, it should remind us of our complicated history, of the countless journeys that brought us to this country, and the critical contributions that people of every race, religion and nationality have made to our national welfare. The xenophobic policies of the Trump administration and its Republican supporters, led by the white supremacist sympathizer Stephen Miller, are an insult to this proud heritage.

This is, of course, not the first time America has failed to live up to its highest calling. From the start, the land was stolen from its native inhabitants, and worked by African slaves brought here against their will. Later, bigots and know-nothings sought to bar the doors to the Jews and Irish and Chinese and Italians and so many others.

But in this season, we celebrate the bigger, better vision that built this nation, despite its flaws. On the base of the Statue of Liberty, that marvelous beacon of freedom in New York Harbor, one can still read the words of Emma Lazarus, the young poet who expressed so beautifully the best of both her Jewish and American roots: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

May we who are blessed with security and prosperity offer our thanks by laboring

to keep that light ablaze, from sea to shining sea, and on our southern border, too.

This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 6:28 PM with the headline "At this time of year, remember America’s fabulous legacy, not the current xenophobia."