When I was a boy in Cedar Rapids, in addition to his day job, my father had a print shop in our basement. There were several rather large pieces of equipment that he used. The largest item was the printing press. This was probably about six feet long by three feet wide and about 4 feet tall.
It seemed to me, an 11-year-old boy, to be a marvelous contraption of wheels, rollers, plates and other mysterious components. Dad put the paper in on one end, turned on the switch and the printed item came out the other end.
I quickly understood that this was only one step in the process of producing a finished product for his customers. Each step had to be done “just right” or the end product was junk. The process began with the paper, which had to be cut to the exact size for the job. Next, dad had to produce the individual pieces of type with his “monotype” machine.
The monotype machine actually required a melting pot that heated different sizes and shapes of lead until they became liquid. The liquid lead was then shaped into individual little sticks of cold lead that had the actual letter on one end. Each one looked different, yet each was made of the same stuff. They worked in unison to get the job done.
As I think of that melting pot, I also remember learning in school, at about the same time, of another “melting pot” – the United States of America. I learned about the many different kinds of people from all over the world who came to the United States. People came to this country for many different reasons. Some came in order to worship God without interference from their government. Some came because they could not earn a living, or because their government was persecuting them. Some, sadly, were brought as slaves. Several hundred thousand Americans were killed in battle to free our black American brothers from slavery.
The United States of America is like my dad’s monotype machine. My teachers said the United States is a “melting pot.” Out of many different kinds of people, this melting pot made us into Americans. We look different on the outside, yet we are made of the same stuff. When we work in unison, we get the job done.
As Americans we were able to defeat both Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire. We then went on to eliminate the USSR as a threat to the entire world.
But the job is not done. We still face grave and perilous threats to our civilization. Only by setting aside our differences and focusing instead on our similarities can America again overcome adversity and once again be a beacon of light to the world.
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Mike Lang is the chairman of the Union County Republican Central Committee.