In today’s paper there is a special section called “Proud to be an American” celebrating our country and heritage. When the staff was originally discussing the section we talked about getting opinions from local people about why they were proud to be an American. That part of the project was dropped, but this column is in response to that question.

By Cindy Tiley

Newsroom Coordinator

I have lived in New York State my whole life - almost 60 years - and had never seen the Statue of Liberty. It is depicted in movies on TV all the time. Sunken in the sand or backlit by fireworks, it is a work of art that resonates the world over.

When my son asked my husband and I what we wanted to do when we came to visit him in Queens a couple weeks ago, we thought about it for a while but ultimately decided that we would like to see the Statue of Liberty. My son and his wife had visited it before and told us about the high security to get into the monument. Very much like going through airport security - shoes off, bags left in security, etc. The stairs inside the monument would be hard for me as well because of an old injury which makes steps tricky.

After some debate we decided to take a lunch cruise around the harbor that would take us out to the statue and not try and take the island tour. The boat was to go around past the Manhattan skyline and under several bridges and then circle back to the pier in Queens within a short ride to my son’s house - lunch and a show.

A few days before we were supposed to go down to NYC, the tour company called and explained that the lunch cruise had been canceled but they were offering us the dinner cruise for the same cost along with some drink tickets. Perfect.

I should explain that I am a Chenango County oddity. I am a Democrat living in a mainly Republican county. It never bothered me until recently. We are all Americans after all. I would go and vote and urged my neighbors to do the same, no matter their political party. The most important thing is not to squander our share of democracy. Everyone’s voice matters. The last election, however, I got dirty looks from people in line behind me at the Town Hall when they realized I was voting in the primary for the Democratic ticket. I believe democracy is about creating a balance across a wide field of interests, backgrounds and opinions. Only by voting is a balance created. I might not agree with you, but that doesn’t make you less of a person.

This has been a difficult couple of years for many people. Women’s rights took a huge backstep, and so did the rights of African-Americans and anyone who is LBTGQ+. It has been disheartening as well to see both political parties hung up on who has power instead of what is right and what the people of the country need.

Because of these things, I suffered a lack of faith in what our country stood for. Before I always thought of myself as patriotic. I married a man born on the Fourth of July after all. I love the country we live in and always want it to do better and be better to its citizens and to other people around the world.

All of these things made me want to see the Statue of Liberty even more. Was it really a symbol of our country or just a chunk of copper in the harbor?

The dinner cruise was beautiful. The company was wonderful. We chugged along the shore and watched the sun going down over giant buildings like a modern Stonehenge. We passed under bridges lit up like exotic Christmas trees. When we got closer to Lady Liberty, my husband and I went out on the bow of the ship to get a closer view. Just as we got to her, the lights went on in the torch and crown.

When I was in grade school, we had a concert for the bicentennial of the United States. One of the songs we sang was about the Statue of Liberty called “Lady of the Harbor.” There was a line “Lady of the Harbor shine your light, shine your light on me.” I felt a wonder looking at her beautiful face… a face hundreds of thousands of immigrants had seen as they came into New York harbor or died yearning toward from Ellis Island. It gave me a shiver to think about all the dreams that were born under that metal gaze.

I looked around the people in the front of the boat. There were people of all different ethnicities, all different ages and backgrounds; a microcosm of America. Behind us a man started to sing “God Bless America” and soon everyone in the bow was singing along. There was just something about that beautiful lady shining her beautiful light on us that gave me hope. When we remember that we are all unique and important, when we shine a light on the bad in an effort to improve, when we are compassionate to everyone and ensure the rights of all our citizens, we are the most free, the most beautiful country in the world.