Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate my independence day and on July 4 I celebrate America's. This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.

On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba and a few months later I was in the United States to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.

I've thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election-year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late 1950s, most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change, and they were right. So when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.

When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said "Praise the Lord." And when the young leader said, "I will be for change and I'll bring you change," everyone yelled, "Viva Fidel!"

But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner's guns went silent the people's guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I'm back to the beginning of my story.

Luckily, we would never fall in America for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America?

Would we?

       I have often said that I am fortunate to have been reared by parents from “the greatest generation.” The reasons are many; I am particularly reminded of some by the circumstances that our great country finds itself confronted with today. Unfortunately, my father left this earth on December 14, 1995. If he were suddenly alive today, he would not recognize his country. . 

     My father was too young to volunteer during the latter half of World War II. His father, whose parents were from France, had to sign in order for him to join the Navy. His term of duty in the Navy ushered in momentous events for both him and his beloved country. He was part of a destroyer escort when the atomic bomb was tested in Bikini Atoll. He remembers that the destroyers turned and faced the impact point in case of a tidal wave. He was ordered not to look. He not only looked; he was among many sailors who swam in the atoll the next day. When I relate this story, many of my acquaintances say that it explains a lot about me. Whatever could they mean? 

      His destroyer was among the first U. N. peacekeeping force stationed off the coast of Israel. I have some declassified pictures taken through binoculars of the Israeli coastline. His mother  was gravely ill while Dad was aboard ship, and the American Red Cross flew him home to Jefferson Parish to be by her side. She died and he was so shocked that he never remembered the details of her services and burial. He worked in navigation; his tools were sextants, pencil and paper, not computers and GPS systems. Among his memorabilia of those times is a chart that clearly shows a gap where his drawing of the ship’s route was interrupted during his absence.

      My father, called Buddy by friends and family, would learn much from his experiences. I am blessed that he felt compelled to share those lessons with me. From Germany’s metamorphosis by Hitler’s Nazi party and its subsequent global expansion to our occupation of Japan at the end of the war, he learned that an unarmed populis is a vulnerable one. He deeply believed in our second amendment rights to bear arms and so do I. He was a patriotic Democrat and often told me that our Federal government’s main duties were to “deliver the mail and defend our shores.” The Federal government has largely handed over the first responsibility, and some are determined that we relinquish the second.  

     Dad would be shocked to hear the local and national news concerning illegal immigrants flooding across the Mexican border today. In fact, I am certain he would think he was part of a bizarre incident hosted by “Candid Camera” or caught up in an episode of Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone.” The idea that our country is neglecting its duty to keep our borders safely closed to illegals would be abhorrent to him. It is to me. Notice that I did not say Mexican immigrants, because it has been proven that other foreign nationals are crossing our common border. Everyone from petty criminals, heinous opportunistic “coyotes,” drug lords, and terrorists are flooding our borders. This is not illegal immigration; it is a determined, organized alien invasion. If American citizens were to cross other countries’ borders illegally, being arrested and returned home would be the most lenient of consequences. We would risk being killed if not the first time, then almost certainly thereafter. 

     My parents were descended from Italian, Sicilian, French, and Irish immigrants. My ancestors crossed the Atlantic in hopes of a better life. They did so legally, often working until they saved enough money to send for other family members, much the way legal Mexican immigrants do today.  My maternal grandmother was a child when she came over in steerage. 

It was an arduous and dangerous journey. Her family members were treated harshly, but they still entered legally! 

     I know the numbers of immigrants who could legally enter the country then were different from now. Our population and our country’s circumstances are vastly different. I do not have the answers, but I know allowing people to invade our country isn’t one of them.  

     Initially I was not bothered by the Spanish language gaining a foothold in our nation, in spite of the fact that earlier generations of immigrants were expected to communicate in English. It was hard for the first generation, but their children easily caught on. I think it is obvious that my ancestors did not lose their Italian, French, or Irish cultural heritage in so doing. It would have been great if they had been encouraged to retain their language, but they were not. That is another story.

     It is because of past stories of harassment, discrimination, and cruelty endured by my relatives that I defy anyone to hang the prejudiced or bigot label on me. I remember my mother’s stories of her treatment as well as the treatment of her black Sweetwater neighbors. Her stories of Italians and Black Americans being killed in “Bloody Tangipahoa” were vivid and easily impressed on my young mind. I am old enough to remember the Ku Klux Klan’s burning crosses and the fear and disgust they evoked in me even then. Yes, Mom and Dad taught me well.

     My mother still believes that prejudice is wrong because we are all God’s children. Dad taught me that freedom isn’t free; it is bought with a high price. He firmly believed that we should be aware of circumstances within and without America that would threaten it. He passionately believed that we had the right and duty to defend our homes and borders from domestic violence and foreign invasion.   

     Yes, I believe that peoples from other countries have the right to enter our country legally for many purposes, future citizenship being one of them. They should not be admitted illegally or too easily. Once here on a work permit or Visa, they should be monitored and not allowed to disappear. If we cannot do that, then we are allowing too many to enter, PERIOD! How many more terrorists and fascists must we shelter and train before we wake up? Our country cannot continue to allow this dangerous invasion, and we must never grant amnesty and absorb the flooding masses without paying a terrible price that will adversely affect our country. Continuing to do so will influence every aspect of our lives including, but not limited to our social, cultural, financial, educational, and political structures.