The New Colossus 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. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” by Emma Lazarus
Stories of old tell about one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Colossus of Rhodes. Apparently, this was an enormous statue, built somewhere around 280 B.C. (See https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-colossus-of-rhodes ) Much mystery surrounds this statue, which is said to have been destroyed by an earthquake in 226 B.C. This male figure stood at the harbor to the Greek island of Rhodes. It was an intimidating and domineering sculpture, and as Emma Lazarus says in her poem, a brazen figure. This image was a symbol of conquest and victory and power.
In the above poem, Emma Lazarus compares this Greek statue to our country’s Statue of Liberty. Her poem, by the way, is mounted on a bronze plaque inside the lower level of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. Lazarus wrote this poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of this pedestal. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Colossus ) She wrote this Italian sonnet as a Jewish-American woman celebrating a French-made statue, contrasting it to a Greek statue, at a time when great numbers of immigrants were coming to the USA from Italy, Greek, and Russia. Think about the diversity of that. Now, read the poem again. Read Lazarus’ words about Lady Liberty. What a contrast from the original Greek Colossus! This Lady has a beacon in her hand, warmly welcoming and calling to all who want freedom. This “Mother of Exiles” is unarmed, instead she carries a tablet in a votive shape which in ancient Greece would’ve been used for writing prayers or poems or other bits of inspiration. She was created to represent the Roman goddess Libertas, reflecting peace and hospitality and benevolence. Notice there is no battle flag. There is no gun. There is only invitation.
Have we as a country lived up to her ideals? Have we opened our arms to others? Have we embraced the diversity of the masses coming to our shores? Or have we championed the conquering Greek Colossus instead? Have we put up sentries to keep out the other? Have we been afraid of the changes that come when we let others in? We have obviously failed her shining example. She rebukes us. She is not a guard. She is a greeter.
Lady Liberty is calling out, “We are free. Come join our freedom!” If we are going to praise America, let’s praise her for the beliefs upheld in this statue. We’ve so much to learn about true freedom. As Nelson Mandela once said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” And as our own Martin Luther King Jr. reiterated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and, “No one is free until we are all free.”
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