Conceptualization: Re-creation

Some mornings I wake up feeling very inspired. This morning, it could be because I slept for over eight hours and had some yummy home-made pancakes and prayed. God is good when I invite him in to my day (Ok he is good without that, but it is a lot more free when I connect to him). I'm a history buff, so I tend to think in terms of historical trends and past events.

America is the land of re-creation. People come here to change, to grow, and to recreate themselves. To be honest, this is what people do all over the world. However, as someone who was born in the US, my worldview is a little bit different then someone in Beijing or Dubai. When people come here, they are often impoverished, imprisoned and willing and eager to work hard to have a stable life for their families and just to get ahead.

(1) The Virginia penal colonies: The unwanted were sent to the US so that they would no longer be a problem for the British.
(2) The Puritans were unwanted and persecuted, so went to the US for freedom
(3) The Chinese were looking to work and were willing to work for less than Whites or Free Blacks after the Civil War. So they helped build railroads and founded China Town in San Francisco. They wanted to send money home and start a new life.
(4) The potato-famine in Ireland left many hungry families with mouths to feed. People came to the US in a desperate hope to survive and send money back home.
(5) Jewish people have been persecuted repeatedly over the years, in the late 1800s, many left for the US through Ellis island (my ancestors). They came to live in tenemants (my Grandfather) and horrid conditions but wanted to survive and live in peace and help their families if possible.
(6) Filipino nurses and home health care workers come to the US for jobs and are willing/coerced into working for less pay and recieving fewer benefits so they can send money back home.
(7) Mexicans risk their lives to cross the border, knowing they are likely to be imprisoned, but have a chance of opportunities and perhaps a way to feed their families.

The list could go on and on. These are the items that are most salient to me at this time. The first five groups (many pre-1900), have transformed themselves. Many are no longer impoverished and many are famous politicians, TV hosts, business people, leaders, etc. Now the same people who came to America desperate for a chance got one and were able to flourish.

Honestly, though, that's what we do as human beings. We seek out new and better opportunities, hope, solutions, and peace. We try to live a good life and to help others in our families or communities to do the same. In the end, that's all that really matters. I try so hard not to forget that all of us, no matter who we are or where we came from, are really all the same deep down inside. And that's a powerful thing.