It's not a poem that _I_ wrote. That would be silly. You don't have to share _my_ feelings.
It's inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty and is taught in civics classes as a representation of American values. The idea is that, when you live in a society, you build upon a set of shared values and stories so that you can have something in common with your neighbor and something bigger than yourself to strive for.
All that said, there's a reason that comes last on my list of reasons. If you and I agree on the shared story, the other stuff doesn't matter so much. If we don't, having pragmatic and fiscal reasons to get on the same page lets us at least stay rational in our discourse.
> It's inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty and is taught in civics classes as a representation of American values
It was created by an activist looking to further Jewish and Georgian causes in the late 19th century. Id argue she wasn’t pushing for American causes and sought to redefine them to include her groups.
> The idea is that, when you live in a society, you build upon a set of shared values and stories so that you can have something in common with your neighbor and something bigger than yourself to strive for.
This is a relatively new idea (the inscription you described above came after the Statue of Liberty). Civic nationalism does not work with the entire world as opposed to immigrants of European descent, as they do not generally share the individualist egalitarian mindset that is unique to the west. There’s ample evidence of this in the US, but the conversation usually devolves into racism accusations at that point.
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. We’d probably find a fair amount of disagreement in our points of view, but I appreciate your engaging in good faith.
It's inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty and is taught in civics classes as a representation of American values. The idea is that, when you live in a society, you build upon a set of shared values and stories so that you can have something in common with your neighbor and something bigger than yourself to strive for.
All that said, there's a reason that comes last on my list of reasons. If you and I agree on the shared story, the other stuff doesn't matter so much. If we don't, having pragmatic and fiscal reasons to get on the same page lets us at least stay rational in our discourse.