Daily Prayer, 15 March

This story was a rare two-for: it includes both history and poetry. It is amazing how many names we know without knowing why we know them, and the stories really are worth telling. My hope in sharing some of them is to pique interest in others to read more deeply into our history. America really is a remarkable place, a nation unlike any other in the world or in history, and she deserves to get some good press now and again. No country, or any organization constituted by and of men, is perfect, but some are better than others. The United States of America is the best, and this story is only one reason why.

Frederic had an idea. A big one. But like any artist, he first needed to find someone to pay for it. Since he was a sculptor, his big idea would require a substantial backing, especially considering that because of its size his idea would also require an engineer.

The engineer and the sculptor got to work and soon found enough backers for the statue, but then could not find a place to put it. Frederic insisted that his masterpiece be perched on an appropriate pedestal—but who was going to pay for that?

This is where Joe comes in. A New York City newspaper man, Joe used the pages of his papers to advertise a popular capitol campaign, which is a sort of 19^th century GoFundMe page. Joe asked for donations, however small, to build a pedestal for Frederic’s idea. He published in his paper some of the notes accompanying the donations he received and promised to print the name of every donor no matter the size of his or her gift. Whether it was to see their name in the paper or because they believed in the project, Joe raised the equivalent of $2.3 million and the statue built by Frenchmen Frederic Bartholdi and Gustav Eiffel found a home on a pedestal in New York Harbor, one Lady Liberty might not have found were it not for the small contributions of Americans led by the efforts of a Hungarian immigrant named Josef Pulitzer.

The story of the Statue of Liberty is a quintessentially American tale, befitting one of America’s most recognizable icons. What America and, thus, we represent to people around the world are the very freedoms that dictators and despotic regimes try to suppress, which is why they hate us so much. As we enter into regions bereft of the freedoms represented by the Statue of Liberty flag and the flag on our mast, I think it’s good to be reminded of those ideals captured so well in Emma Lazarus’ poem dedicated to the statue. It’s called the New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

LET US PRAY

Almighty God, we thank you for the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans each and every day. We pray that as we enter into regions darkened by an absence of such freedoms we may ourselves be the beacon light of liberty that gives hope to the oppressed and brings fear to the oppressor. Grant us the strength to lift liberty’s torch so that we might become more like You, O Light of the World, Who is a shield to the oppressed and a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You, and it is in Your name we pray.

AMEN