Episode 13: Immigrants. We get the job done.

Main idea: How Immigration helped free and build a nation

• Who we are:
  • I’m Kasie, I’m in Columbia I’m homeschooling my daughter (age 12).
  • I’m Jessica. I live in the Upstate of South Carolina, and I have two boys, 6th and 3rd grade. Both of my kids are completely obsessed with Hamilton (the musical) and all the characters. 
  • I’m Melissa in the lowcountry, 3 kids in elementary school
• The purpose and scope of the episode- 
  • How we talk to our kids about what has become an over-politicized topic- immigration, and any first-hand experiences our kids have had
• Today’s topic: 
  • In the last episode we quoted a line from Hamilton “Immigrants, we get the job done!”. In the production this is a point just before the Battle of Yorktown where in the production, Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de LaFayette meet for the first time in a while and exchange pleasantries. The line is “We’re finally on the field, we’ve had quite the run- Immigrants, we get the job done” in context of making strides toward the defeat of the British. 
    • Jessica- When Hamilton was released on Disney Plus this summer I allowed my kids to watch. They were completely enthralled by the characters, and are now obsessed. Having something that piques their interest equally has allowed a really great mechanism by which I can speak to them about a myriad of topics related to our Founding Fathers and the establishment of our nation, as well as how our Founding Fathers would likely view current events. We will talk more of these throughout the series of Founding Fatherhood episodes, but since we quoted the line about Immigrants we thought it would be a good time to circle back to it. The vast majority of Americans have ancestors who immigrated to our Country. Unless you are a Native American, you have at least one ancestor who came here from another land. 
  • Have you had conversations with your kids about immigration and how it helped build our nation? How it helps our nation thrive still?
    • Melissa- My son’s social studies class just did a lesson on immigration/immigrants and how they contributed to the country
    • Jessica- Having a cultural phenomenon like Hamilton has given me something my kids can see and relate to. We have been able to talk about the contributions of our founding fathers, even those who immigrated to America, to advance the liberation of our nation from the King’s rule. Having dynamic characters such as Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette help to highlight how immigrants many times come to the US in search of freedom and prosperity, and make contributions to the advancement of our nation. They may not all stand and fight against tyranny in such dramatic fashion- but they contribute to our workforce and economy, to our schools, to our churches and our communities. They become friends, and sometimes part of our families. 
  • Have you seen this play out, or have your children had any experiences first-hand with someone who immigrated here?
    • Melissa- Our neighbors are Latino. The mom doesn’t speak much English and I don’t speak much Spanish but we manage to communicate enough to watch out for each other’s kids. 
    • Jessica- I have an aunt who immigrated here from Colombia, South America about 25 years ago or so. She married my uncle several years after coming here, but just got her citizenship within the last couple of years. When the topic of immigration comes up we often talk about her story as an example of why people come here. Opportunity, freedom, and safety to name a few of the most common. 
      • This will be her first election cycle where she will be able to vote as an American Citizen. We were visiting with them earlier this week and we were talking about the choices on the ballot and the disappointment we both feel about the current socio-political climate. Regardless of that, she noted how important this is to her, and how she has worked hard to have this right and that she views it as her responsibility. When we left their house Jackson (elder son) told me how proud he was for her. I was really proud that he not only understood but also appreciated the gravity of that.

• How does this support liberty? 
  • Teaching children to be accepting of others and treat them as equals, and to value the contributions they make no matter how “important” they seem. Collaboration is the key to success. 
• Coming up on the next episode: 
  • We got off schedule, so we’re not sure what’ll be next. We plan to record the day after the election, so it’ll probably be about the Duopoly.
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• Thanks and goodbye