​Hey Trump: The American Promise to Its Immigrants Is Hope, Not Hate (Norway Is a “Shithole," Too) by Brittany Moffatt

Opinion Headlines
6 years ago

Hey Trump,

My great-great-grandmother is from Norway, and I guarantee she’d tell you it is a shithole country, too!

Let’s reverse time for a minute back to 1873. My great-great-grandmother boarded a boat from Norway with her husband to come to America. Not only was she leaving what she felt was a terrible country for a better one, but she was eight months pregnant! The bravery, courage and trust she had in the promise of America has lived on in the heart of every immigrant since America’s founding.

My great-great-grandmother gave birth to my great-grandmother, Oceana, on the voyage over. As a mother, I know how terrifying birth is, let alone on a filthy migrant ship in the middle of the ocean!

America is the land of promises and no one makes more promises to someone than a new mother to her baby. You promise to keep them safe, cherish and care for their every need.

That’s why as terrifying as it was for her to board that ship, the prospect of staying in her country was worse. No one should question a personal and very hard choice an immigrant from any country makes.

The sad truth is, every country is a shithole until it listens to what’s best for its people and transcends politics to put the interest of its citizens above that of big corporations, separatist political parties and individual investors.

Every immigrant is an American once they hit these shores and, as born citizens, we owe it to them to live up to the promise that this is America, “the land of the free and the home of the brave!” 

This video is longer than 30 seconds, but we think it's worth it.

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Elisa Schmitz
OMG, I love this so much! You are 100 percent right, Brittany Moffatt . When my dad's family immigrated from Croatia during World War II, I'm pretty sure that area would have been considered a shithole, too. "Hope, not Hate." It's the American Dream, of the America I know and love. Your words are perfect, my friend! xoxo
Ann Marie Patitucci
I couldn't love this more, Brittany Moffatt ! I have tears in my eyes reading it. Thank you for this. #hopenothate
Brittany Moffatt
Yes! Love the #hopenothate
Donna John
Yes! This is great, Brittany Moffatt . As I told you earlier, my mom's mom is from Poland, and my dad's side from Germany. My husband's mom is from Spain and his dad is from Germany. We are ALL immigrants!
Alice V
True this country was built on immigration but where do you draw the line? When is it that you decide that not just "anyone" can come right in? I think we live in very different times and we have our own crazies, troublemakers, and poor to worry about, should we really have to worry about everyone else when we can barely take care of ourselves? It's like that old saying, "If you can't help yourself, how can you help anyone else?" I have a very different view even though I know of many immigrants who are wonderful people who totally deserve to be here but then there's all the dirt bags taking advantage of our welfare, smuggling children for modern-day slavery in American, and women forced into prostitution. What about them? They didn't come here for that but that's what they got and no one is talking about them. FYI: I live in Southern California, one of the forefront states in the matter of illegal immigration and it's not pretty and it's not just people coming here for a better life.

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