@Roberta,
Roberta wrote:Thomas, I suspect that the impact of the Statue of Liberty might not be there for you because your ancestors didn't struggle against tyranny or poverty to get here.
Actually, I
am very impressed, not to mention moved, by Ellis Island, which documents the immigrants' experience, and which you can reach on the same ferry that brings you to Liberty Island.
I'll grant you that the Statue of Liberty looks nice on T-shirts, and in the background of I've-been-there photos. But you can get those without setting foot on Liberty Island. The main things that await you on the actual island are a) long waiting lines (in the restaurant, for the Statue, and for the ferry back), and b) extremely agressive seagulls that will nosedive for your food, peck it out of your hand, and possibly hurt you in the process. In return, even if the statue
is open and you
can get to its top, you end up looking out into the Atlantic Ocean, where you can greet the huddling masses yearning to breathe free---if you can see any that still arrive on a ship. You don't get
any view of New York City from the Statue of Liberty, which is what many tourists foolishly expect.
Trust me: The Statue of Liberty---the concrete physical place,
not the ideas it stands for, and
not the site of it in the distance---is just a photo op. It's not worth leaving the ferry for on your way to Ellis Island.
