It would be a time to review our progress in the search for technological advances to improve our way of life by making it better. safer. and more satisfying. to evaluate our gains in the patient quest for cures to diseases that kill and cripple. to appraise the wondrous probes into the vast and awesome void of outer space. Finally. Columbus Day would be a day to honor immigrants of all nationalities and acknowledge their contributions to the building of a strong. just. and prosperous United States of America. President Kennedy correctly called us a nation of immigrants. and the Congress already has acted to establish Ellis Island as a permanent reminder of our indebtedness to those who came from foreign soil and gave their brain and their brawnand not infrequently. their livesthat their adopted land might grow and flourish. Just as George Washington deservedly is called the "Father of our Country." so Christopher Columbus deservedly should be remembered as the "Father of Immigration." for on his second. third. and fourth voyages he made the first attempts at colonization in the new world. And even the first journey had an international character. Let us not overlook the fact that Columbus was an Italian whose fleet was provided by the Spaniards and whose crew was recruited largely from among Portuguese sailors. . From the very beginning. this country was indebted to the courage and sacrifice of the men of more than one nation. and this debt has increased with each passing year. In honoring our immigrants on Columbus Day we will do more than show our gratitude for their countless contributions. We will be simultaneously striking a powerful blow against discrimination and the intolerable prejudice of those who insist upon measuring a man by where he comes from. or where his parents or their parents came from. without regard for individual ability. integrity. loyalty or any other distinguishing and commendable characteristic. Discrimination is not compatible with democracy.
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Immigration immigrants