July 14, 2023
Dear Readers:
This message is a little long, but I hope you take time to read it. It was delivered thirteen years ago by a Vietnam immigrant, but it is still, if not more so, very pertinent to today.
On Saturday,
July 24th, 2010 the town
of Prescott Valley, AZ, hosted a Freedom Rally. Quang Nguyen was
asked to speak on his experience of coming to America and what it means.
He spoke the following in dedication to all Vietnam Veterans. Thought you might
enjoy hearing what he had to say:
35
years ago, if you were to tell me that I am going to stand up here speaking to
a couple thousand patriots, in English, I'd laugh at you. Man, every morning I
wake up thanking God for putting me and my family in the greatest country on
earth.
I
just want you all to know that the American dream does exist and I am living
the American dream. I was asked to speak to you about my experience as a first
generation Vietnamese-American, but I'd rather speak to you as an American.
If
you hadn't noticed, I am not white and I feel pretty comfortable with my
people. I am a proud US citizen and here is my proof. It took
me 8 years to get it, waiting in endless lines, but I got it, and I am very
proud of it.
I
still remember the images of the Tet offensive in 1968, I was six years old.
Now you might want to question how a 6-year-old boy could remember anything.
Trust me, those images can never be erased. I can't even imagine what it was
like for young American soldiers; 10,000 miles away from home, fighting on
my behalf.
35
years ago, I left South Vietnam for political asylum. The war had
ended. At the age of 13, I left with the understanding that I may or may not
ever get to see my siblings or parents again. I was one of the first lucky
100,000 Vietnamese allowed to come to the US. Somehow, my family and I
were reunited 5 months later, amazingly, in California. It was a miracle
from God.
If
you haven't heard lately that this is the greatest country on earth, I am
telling you that right now. It was the freedom and the opportunities presented
to me that put me here with all of you tonight. I
also remember the barriers that I had to overcome every step of the way. My
high school counselor told me that I cannot make it to college due to my poor
communication skills. I proved him wrong. I finished college. You see, all you
have to do is to give this little boy an opportunity and encourage him to take
and run with it. Well, I took the opportunity and here I am.
This
person standing tonight in front of you could not
exist under a socialist/communist environment. By the way, if you think
socialism is the way to go, I am sure many people here will chip in to get you
a one-way ticket out of here. And if you didn't know, the only difference
between socialism and communism is an AK-47 aimed at your head. That was my
experience.
In
1982, I stood with a thousand new immigrants, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
and listening to the National Anthem for the first time as an American. To this
day, I can't re member anything sweeter and more patriotic than that moment in
my life.
Fast
forwarding, somehow I finished high school, finished college, and like any
other goofball 21 year old kid, I was having a great time with my life. I had a
nice job and a nice apartment in Southern California. In some way and
somehow, I had forgotten how I got here and why I was here.
One
day I was at a gas station, I saw a veteran pumping gas on the other side of
the island. I don't know what made me do it, but I walked over and asked if he
had served in Vietnam. He smiled and said yes. I shook and held his hand.
The grown man began to well up. I walked away as fast as I could and at that
very moment, I was emotionally rocked. This was a profound moment in my life. I
knew something had to change in my life. It was time for me to learn how to be
a good citizen. It was time for me to give back.
You
see, America is not just a place on the map, it isn't just a physical
location. It is an ideal, a concept. And if you are an American, you must
understand the concept, you must accept this concept, and most importantly, you
have to fight and defend this concept. This is about Freedom and not free
stuff. And that is why I am standing up here.
Brothers
and sisters, to be a real American, the very least you must do is to learn
English and understand it well. In my humble opinion, you cannot be a faithful
patriotic citizen if you can't speak the language of the country you live in.
Take this document of 46 pages - last I looked on the Internet, there wasn't a
Vietnamese translation of the US Constitution. It took me a long time to get to
the point of being able to converse and until this day, I still struggle to
come up with the right words. It's not easy, but if it's too easy, it's not
worth doing.
Before
I knew this 46-page document, I learned of the 500,000 Americans who fought for
this little boy. I learned of the 58,000 names scribed on the black wall at the
Vietnam Memorial. You are my heroes. You are my founders.
At
this time, I would like to ask all the Vietnam veterans to please
stand. I thank you for my life. I thank you for your sacrifices, and I thank
you for giving me the freedom and liberty I have today.
I now ask all veterans, firefighters, and police officers, to please stand. On
behalf of all first generation immigrants, I thank you for your services and
may God bless you all.
Quang
Nguyen
Creative
Director/Founder
Caddis
Advertising, LLC
"God
Bless America"
"One
Flag, One Language,
One
Nation Under God"
No comments:
Post a Comment