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“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
(1849-1887)

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
with conquering limbs astride from land to land;
here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
a mighty woman with a torch,
whose flame is the imprisoned lightning,
and her name ~
Mother of Exiles.
//
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”


~~~

Meaning of the Poem Inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, this sonnet may have the greatest placement of any English poem.

It also has one of the greatest placements in history. Lazarus compares the Statue of Liberty to the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Like the Statue of Liberty, the Colossus of Rhodes was an enormous god-like statue positioned in a harbor.

Although the Colossus of Rhodes no longer stands, it symbolizes the ancient Greek world and the greatness of the ancient Greek and Roman civilization, which was lost for a thousand years to the West, and only fully recovered again during the Renaissance.

“The New Colossus” succinctly crystallizes the connection between the ancient world and America, a modern nation.

It’s a connection that can be seen in the White House and other state and judicial buildings across America that architecturally mirror ancient Greek and Roman buildings; and in the American political system that mirrors Athenian Democracy and Roman Republicanism.

In the midst of this vast comparison of the ancient and the American, Lazarus still manages to clearly render America’s distinct character.

It is the can-do spirit of taking those persecuted and poor // and giving them a new opportunity and hope for the future, what she calls “the golden door.”

It is a uniquely scrappy and compassionate quality that sets Americans apart from the ancients.

The relevance of this poem stretches all the way back to the pilgrims fleeing religious persecution in Europe...//

(Christians fleeing Deep State assassins...)

//

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We must fight - Ronald Reagan


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Patriotic Speech - R.R.


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