Emma Lazarus Posting

Rich Hoggan
01-25-11
Emma Lazarus Posting

In the introduction to Emma Lazarus, the editors write "In hailing the female figure as the "Mother of Exiles," Lazarus brilliantly, merely by her words, redefined the "mighty woman with a torch" into the national welcomer of "huddled masses" seeking refuge. Building on her own knowledge of immigrants arriving in the bay, she deflected the significance of the statue away from the past and toward the future" (517). This quote demonstrates the interoperation of Lazarus' views of American freedom and liberty. Interestingly enough she focuses on the idea of the Statue of Liberty lighting the way toward the future not lighting the memory of our past -- both as a country and as a people. But all that said, it's the past that defines us -- especially when talking about America as a whole. We are the United States of America, the land of freedom, the only land in possession of two pieces of paper that defy and deny all who try to oppress us. We must not forget our past as we forge our future.

Lazarus might have been rubbing elbows with the literary giants of the time, but she still understood the significance of the Statue of Liberty -- probably better than any of us. She understood that immigrants would pour into this land and would seek to make futures here. She understood that the Statute of Liberty signifies the future -- the future of freedom, the ending of oppression. It's only fitting that the base of the statue, the point at which all the weight of the top is centered, be adorned with words that signify it's standing and it's signaling to the world that we are here to stay.

A quote from the Jewish Women's Archive states "Emma Lazarus' famous lines caught our national imagination and continue to inspire the way we think about freedom and exile today" (JWA - Lazarus). But while she fortified the significance of a symbolic piece of American history and culture, she was also an avid and outspoken person on the the anti-Semitism that was plaguing Europe at the time. Also from the Jewish Women's Archive we read "In secular magazines she railed against international anti-Semitism as well as the false stenotypes that fostered dangerous prejudice against Jews everywhere - even in America" (JWA - Lazarus). If it wasn't bad enough to be a woman living in America at the time, she was a Jewish woman living in America. As such, Lazarus spoke out against such attitudes both in America but also around the world and as it should be. I understand why she chose to "remodel" the Statue of Liberty as she did. Her understanding of America and what America means not the world stage is what allowed her to create a beacon of hope for those facing the strife of prejudice both in Europe but unfortunately here in America as well.

Lazarus was also outspoken when it came to the creation of a Jewish homeland. As such, she was a major playing in the Zionist movement. Her work as spawned numerous movements today as we still struggle with the issue of immigration rights. And while this is a topic that leads to tensions on both sides of the coin, we can only look to her words that are affixed to the base of the Statue of Liberty and try to remember that a beacon of light and hope shines in the port of New York as a reminder of our past but also a reminder of our future.