Delco re:View Summer 2018 - 31

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Italy
Jamaica Lebanon Liberia Nigeria Pakistan
The Philippines
The Rep. of 'Korea

Robert DeLong, Esq.

Sierra Leone
Thailand
Togo
Ukraine

Estate Planning,
Administr ation & Probate
Elder Law

United Kingdom
Vietnam
You each bring with you the gift of your culture - and the
courage it requires to leave your homeland for a new land. I
hope you will share your rich heritage with us, and in doing
so discover the essential truth about America: E pluribus
unum isn't just a Latin phrase dreamt up to torture you on your
citizenship tests. It means the diversity in unity. America is
stronger and richer because of the diverse cultures, religions and
traditions you bring to her shores.

17 Veter ans Square
Post Office Box 604
MediA, Pennsylvania 19063
Phone: 610.627.5865
Fax: 610.627.5867
Email:
RobertDeLongEsq@gmail.com

Sixty years ago, my mother Shahin arrived in New York for
the first time - a young woman from Iran who studied, learned
English, and married my father, a man from Oklahoma who also
hungered for faraway lands. They began a family.
The torch that lit her life was a love of education, and she
became both an educator and principal of the school I attended.
She also became an American citizen, yet still thinks of herself
as a 'daughter of Iran.'
Today there are few more contentious relationships on the
world stage than the one between Iran and America. But my
mother knows America is a big-hearted country that welcomes
diversity. Forget about the rancor and politics. This is in our
DNA. We are ALL from someplace else. And although there
is no official relationship between her two homelands, no
American embassy in Iran or Iranian embassy here, my mother
considers herself an ambassador, representing the best and
bravest parts of her homelands each to the other.
As you will now do. You are all ambassadors - and I
hope you will continue to share the spirit and culture of your
homeland with us.You will find America a rich and generous
place that rewards your faith in her, your curiosity, your
ambition and your hope.
It's been a long while since the torch of freedom resided
in Philadelphia - but today, in this courtroom, that torch still
burns. To the women in the audience, I would remind you that
the statue of liberty is a female, and you have become citizens
at a transitional time when strong women are lighting a path of
equality and fairness.

To the gentlemen, I would encourage you to support your
mothers and wives and daughters in their pursuits. Together,
we will be the torch that illuminates the path to goodness.
These are challenging and polarizing times, but it's up to all
of us to keep that torch lit. We do this by remembering who
we are and by supporting one another, and valuing diversity
and difference when it crosses our path. This is how we honor
America.
There's a saying - that something is "as American as
Mom and Apple Pie." I've already told you about my mother,
so I thought I'd bring along some pie, my welcome gift to
America's newest citizens. It's from another great American
institution: Giant. Incidentally, apple pie? It was brought over
by the pilgrims. Even pie was from somewhere else.
Today, the Board of Judges and I join your family and
friends in congratulating you. This is the beginning of your
journey as citizens of this wonderful country, and with your
voices, your ambitions, and your faith you become the next
great hope for our experiment in democracy. Welcome.
We are honored to have you. *

Summer 2018

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