One hundred forty years ago today, on June 17, 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor. A gift of friendship from the people of France, her 350 sculpted pieces of copper and iron had been packed in more than 200 cases, to be reassembled and dedicated the following year.

And there she has stood, for nearly a century and a half, proudly proclaiming the freedom and hope she has offered to the millions of people throughout the world seeking a better life for themselves and their future generations.

She has been a symbol of the greatness of a nation that was built by the hands of refugees from every continent except Antarctica . . . immigrants without whom there would be no America of today.

Let us pray that she will still be there, proud and tall and welcoming, four years from now . . . and not bowed down in the shame and despair of failure.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/17/25