VIEW FROM THE TREMBITA LOUNGE: "Coming to America" (04/16/06)

VIEW FROM THE TREMBITA LOUNGE

by Taras Szmagala Jr.

"Coming to America"

The flashing white "walk" sign illuminated, and as I began to cross Prospect Avenue in downtown Cleveland, I felt decidedly self-conscious. Walking with my parents toward Quicken Loans Arena (as Cleveland's basketball facility is known), I found myself looking at the crowd around me, hoping not to be recognized. It was a "high school moment" - I was accompanying my parents to a Neil Diamond concert. And God forbid anyone I knew actually saw me. (Never mind the fact I'm almost 40 years old - it was Neil Diamond, for crying out loud, and even those of us entering middle age have our pride.)

But as the lights went down and the act started, my silly throwback to adolescence began to melt away. Neil was good - he still had "it," whatever "it" is. The old traditional numbers were spectacular, and I couldn't help but dig the scene. My embarrassment turned to pure enjoyment ... and then ... my favorite ...

The 1970s-era Moog synthesizer echoed through the auditorium, quieting the capacity crowd. Slowly, an image of the Statue of Liberty appeared above us. Then, a boat materialized as if from thin air, while her cargo - women who appeared older than they surely were, wearing babushkas and carrying infant children - disembarked over the Cleveland Cavaliers logo that adorned the nearby scoreboard. Black-and-white images of young men wearing tattered sportcoats and carrying sacks made their way across the arena screens. With this as background, Neil Diamond began his classic song, "Coming to America."

Now, I admit that I am a sentimental guy. But "Coming to America" has always had a profound effect on me. Part ethnic, part patriotic, this song captures the essence of what America stands for. It is the musical accompaniment to Emma Lazarus' verse that greeted so many of our ancestors: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free." With his sappy song, Neil Diamond not only celebrates our past, but reminds us of what America aspires to be: a land of acceptance, of opportunity, of hope.

The catchy tune was still ringing in my ears as I lay down to bed that evening. And, as is my (bad) habit, I flipped on the TV to lull me to sleep. By doing so, I let CNN's Lou Dobbs ruin my otherwise pleasant evening with Neil Diamond.

"On tonight's edition of 'Moneyline,' " Mr. Dobbs sputtered, "we examine our nation's continuing problem with illegal immigration." (It was the same topic Mr. Dobbs examined the day before, and the day before that. No one ever accused Mr. Dobbs of being creative.) Under his concerned face was written the caption "Our Broken Borders." The gravitas with which he addressed this subject was palpable, and his theme clearly stated: immigration poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of America and all patriotic Americans.

Indeed, a majority of his hourlong program was dedicated to emphasizing the threat that immigration posed to our great nation. (Of course, Mr. Dobbs emphasizes that he is opposed only to "illegal immigration," but as he is also opposed to increasing the numbers of legal immigrants, that's a distinction without a difference. In fact, today the United States accepts only one-tenth the number of legal immigrants, on a per capita basis, than when my grandparents were admitted to citizenship.)

Try as I might, I could not get the juxtaposition of that evening out of my head. On one hand, the worldly and well-spoken Mr. Dobbs set forth his case against immigration, suggesting that impoverished Mexicans streaming across our southern border are taking poor-paying jobs that would otherwise go to deserving Americans. On the other hand, Neil Diamond romanticized the experience of our ancestors, coming to this country in search of opportunity and a better life for their children. How do we reconcile these two starkly opposite views?

We can't. For, if we are honest with ourselves, we cannot in good faith celebrate our ethnicity and the opportunity this country has provided to us, while at the same time seek to foreclose that same opportunity for others.

Many will try to rationalize this paradox by drawing distinctions between the immigrations. "Today's immigrants are different from those of the past," is a common refrain. Really? My grandparents ventured westward on creaky ships for one reason: economic opportunity. Today, Mexican immigrants cross the Rio Grande ... for economic opportunity. "But," many would object, "the European immigrants of yesteryear were harder working. Today's immigrants just want welfare." Another myth. According to most objective studies, today's immigrants contribute, or soon will contribute, more to America's social and economic fabric than they take - just as they did in 1913 and 1953.

"But you're forgetting all the jobs they take from us," others would argue. If that's the case, why is the economic situation in areas with high present-day immigration - such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago - so much better than in areas with low immigration - such as Cleveland, Rochester and western Pennsylvania?

The answer is that, just as in previous decades, immigrants are attracted to opportunity. And they create economic vitality. High immigration is often a sign of economic health, while low immigration frequently suggests economic stagnation. And let's be honest, the unemployed Flint autoworker is not being displaced by a Mexican immigrant on the production line. Nor is that autoworker moving to California to pick lettuce. The link between immigration and job loss in the United States is just not there.

To be sure, there are issues that need to be addressed. Immigration laws must be amended to significantly increase the number of legal immigrants we accept, thereby lowering the number of illegal residents who live in a "shadow economy" without paying taxes or participating in civic life. And certainly the extent to which we extend our social "safety net" to the newly arrived should be a subject for discussion - especially in those states which cannot afford the short-term cost of supporting a disproportionately large number of poorer new residents.

But the cost of accepting more legal immigrants is greatly outweighed by the benefits new immigrants offer. They add to our diversity, our social fabric and our economic system. Immigrants are often more committed to family values, more hungry to succeed and more driven to excel than the average American. This is true regardless of whether the immigrants are Ukrainian, Cuban, Polish or Mexican.

So who will it be, Neil Diamond or Mr. Dobbs? For me, it comes down to a choice between reaffirming what makes America great, or succumbing to fear and distrust. We can embrace the ideals that allowed us to become Americans, or we can discard those ideals now that we're residents of this great country. It's not a hard decision, actually. I'm a Neil Diamond fan, and I'm not embarrassed to admit it.

Taras Szmagala Jr. may be reached at Szmagala@yahoo.com.

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