Liberty Will Never Perish

The aeroplane and the radio 

have brought us closer together

The very nature of these inventions 

cries out for the goodness in men - 

cries out for universal brotherhood - 

for the unity of us all

Even now my voice 

is reaching millions throughout The World - 

millions of despairing men, 

women, and little children - 

victims of a system that 

makes men torture 

and imprison innocent people.

To those who can Hear Me, 

I Say - 

“Do Not Despair.”

The Misery that is now upon us 

is but the passing of Greed - 

the bitterness of men 

who fear the way of human progress

The hate of men will pass, 

and dictators die, 

and the power they took from The People 

will return to The People

And so long as men die, 

Liberty will never perish

Emma Lazarus's poem specifically made the statue part of the immigrant story. She was an American Jewish poet who had initially refused the offer, but after working with refugees from European pogroms, came to understand what America meant to people who were outcasts of society:

“Bartholdi's gigantic effigy was originally intended as a monument to the principles of international republicanism, but The New Colossus reinvented the statue's purpose, turning Liberty into a welcoming mother, a symbol of hope to the outcasts and downtrodden of the world.”

Paul Auster