History

Believe it or not, I was thinking about Irish Fest as I watched the election returns last night. Not all night of course, and it's not as crazy as it sounds. I really do think of other things once in awhile. But I was thinking that for those of us who plan, attend and love Irish Fest, last night's election of Barack Obama was in a way a reason to celebrate, whether you voted for him or not. If you'll indulge me, I'll try to explain.

There's a line in an Elvis Costello song written for the documentary Long Journey Home that says "And as you ascend the ladder, look out below where you tread. For the colors blend as they overflowed, red white and blue, green white and gold." As participants in the Kansas City Irish Fest, one of the largest ethnic celebrations in the country, we tell the world annually that we hold tight to our immigrant past while at the same time we live as proud Americans. We celebrate the immigrant experience here in America every Labor Day weekend when we gather at Crown Center to remember our own journeys to this great country, whether it was last year on a jetliner or 150 years ago on a coffin ship. When we hear the old tunes and watch the old dances brought here with a million Irish immigrants, with a Kansas City brewed beer in one hand and an Italian sausage in the other, we become little Americas in a way. We become the image of what this country at its best can be. So last night, as the nation and the world watched a first generation American, the son of an African goat herder and the descendant of an Irish shoemaker reach the highest office in the country, they saw the embodiment of that hackneyed phrase "The American Dream", alive and well. They saw the dream that all immigrants keep tucked away in their hearts when they begin the journey here, the journey home. 

I was proud to be an American when I went to the polls yesterday morning before dawn. I was proud for this nation of immigrants as I watched the returns last night. And I think whichever side of the political spectrum you fall on, whether your candidate won or lost, today, as immigrants and the sons and daughters of immigrants we should all hold our heads high and stand in awe at what a glorious, messy, inspiring and amazing thing we've built over here after leaving over there. 

Well done, everybody.