When people in my rural area get together, it resembles a meeting of the U.N. We gather in the small town closest to us. We have a block party and in the evening fire works.

One thing I noticed, the new citizens are the most patriotic. One of my neighbors from China just became a U.S. citizen. We threw her one hell of a party. She made a wonderful speech about how grateful she was to live in a free country and how lucky those born here, truly are. She waited years to become a citizen. She has no patience with those you come illegally. This woman has seen horrors not even imaginable to me.

The food was fantastic. My doctors agree I have lost to much weight. This party should have taken care of that. It was a day to celebrate how despite our differences we are all Americans.

In our small rural community we have a very diverse group. We have people from: Russia, China, Romania, Mexico, all over Europe, and various South American countries. All have achieved citizenship through the proper channels and all consider themselves Americans. It was an honor to celebrate the fourth with people who truly appreciate being American.

I believe this is an example of the difference in people longing for freedom and the people longing for a hand out. The new citizens in my community want to be Americans. They are thankful this country allowed them to become citizens. I have never heard one single person complain about the long wait or the back ground checks. Maybe because they had nothing to hide.

Anything achieved easily is not as appreciated as something you must work for. By just opening the borders, we are not getting people who will be an asset to our society. We are getting the dregs of other societies. Just my opinion.

I think the thing which angers me the most is the people from Central America, South America, and Mexico who came legally and have asked for nothing from this government are being lumped in with the criminals. I feel opening the borders is insulting to those who came legally.