Statue of Liberty

Category: Thing Sub-category: Sculpture & Symbol

If you, Dear Reader, are detecting a theme (America!) in this week’s posts, a) you are correct (and, spoiler alert, tomorrow’s post will also stick with this theme), and b) don’t get used to it - as a general rule, daily posts will categorically NOT be themed (but, spoiler alert #2, next week’s posts will also have a theme). I’m starting Hopefully Beneficial with exceptions to the rule because, well, sometimes, some rules (e.g. no weekly themes) have exceptions. Because tomorrow is Independence Day in the United States, and because America has been on my mind a great deal as of late, let’s roll with it. All that said, our focus today is the Statue of Liberty.

Immediate question: “The Statue of Liberty? Isn’t that too common, cliché, and glaringly obvious this week?” Perhaps. That was my first thought as well, and it may be correct. But I don’t actually think so. I think it is an important and timely topic, so maybe stick with me until the end?

For any number of poor reasons, despite being a two-time New York resident and having been in the city hundreds of times when not a resident, I somehow avoided actually visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island until two summers ago. The thought of going felt like an obligatory box-checking exercise for first time visitors, and a ferry ride sounded like a hassle. I was 100% wrong. The Statue of Liberty is so much more than a tourist souvenir keychain, a kids LEGO set, or a played out trope in Hollywood apocalypse movies. The visit was thrilling and deeply moving in ways that I hadn’t previously comprehended.

While on the ferry, it is impossible not to imagine arriving in America for the first time, nearing the end of a long and arduous journey that was motivated, at a minimum, by a yearning for a better life, and often, out of absolute necessity and the absence of any other viable option. Please consider pausing for a moment: visualize first seeing this colossal beacon of hope, a dream come true, materializing out of the vast ocean. Did you pause? And, if so, did this exercise push any emotional buttons? For me, the answers to these two questions are yes and yes. What a moment that must have been for people wanting so badly to call America home!

Upon disembarking on Ellis Island, the trial was not yet done. Would the new arrivals be accepted, sent to quarantine, or sent back across the ocean? Would families remain intact? Would they be reunited with loved ones already in America? The stakes were immeasurably high. For the unlucky ones, Ellis Island earned the nickname, “Island of Tears.” And, if allowed to enter, what next? How to make a life in this new and foreign land? In the 62 years that Ellis Island was in operation, over 12 million immigrants entered the United States via this awe-inspiring human portal. It is estimated that over 40% of all Americans today have at least one ancestor who came through Ellis Island.

I am one of that 40%, and I know this beacuse of my Aunt Ann, our de facto family historian, whose diligent research enabled me to find our ancestors in the Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Database. I am so immensely grateful that a) they had the courage to leave what they knew and come to this country and that b) upon arrival, they were given the chance to make a life here. Many years later, this made me a winner in what Warren Buffett calls the “ovarian lottery.”

Only 4% of the world’s humans are Americans, and to be alive in America today is to be in one of the best places and times to have lived at any point in human history. This is not to say that America is perfect - of course its not, and nowhere is. However, despite what naysayers may purport, this is, in fact, an extraordinarily good time for humanity, and the United States remains a place that untold multitudes would choose to live if granted the chance. And, for nearly 140 years, the Statue of Liberty has raised her torch as a bastion of hope and opportunity to the brave souls who have wagered their livelihoods and futures to partake in, and help create, the American Dream.

So yes, the Statue of Liberty merits our consideration today.

And friends, that’s a wrap on post #4, only 2,496 to go. See you tomorrow with more from Hopefully Beneficial. Shalom and let’s go!