Chapter 7 Pledge under the Stars and Stripes

Before and after Li Wanruo studied at the University of Washington, three important figures appeared in the American political arena. One was John F. Kennedy, the first young and handsome new president born in the 20th century in American history; the other was Johnson, his successor.Kennedy, a Catholic who was born in a wealthy family, became an idol worshiped by women all over the world at that time because of his youthful handsomeness, elegant demeanor and noble temperament.Although Li Wanruo was not an American at that time, her admiration for Kennedy was not limited to American women. This was because Kennedy had a young heart in addition to his charming appearance.

When Li Wanruo saw Kennedy on TV for the first time, she was amazed in her heart: it is amazing that such a young man is a presidential candidate!His voice with a British accent, noble and modest temperament, is so charming and touching.At that time, Wan Ruo was still a foreign student.She thought to herself that if I were an American, I would definitely vote for him.Later, it turned out that almost half of Americans had the same idea as her, because Kennedy ran for president very well. On January 20, 1961, the streets of the capital Washington were covered with heavy snow, almost freezing all pedestrians and vehicles, but a loud voice made all Americans stop and listen. This voice was the inauguration speech made by the newly appointed Kenny.In Kennedy's own words, his succession to the presidency is not only a replacement, but a renewal.The new president's inaugural address was almost entirely addressed to young people.Even today, Li Wanruo can recite whole paragraphs.

On November 22, 1963, Li Wanruo's husband, Chen Baohe, went to Huada Affiliated Hospital to pick up his wife, who was intern there, after get off work.He waited for a long time but still did not see Li Wanruo coming out.Just when he was feeling overwhelmed, his wife came out and got into her husband's car. Li Wanruo suddenly covered her face and burst into tears, and her eyes were already like walnuts. It was obvious that she had not been crying for a while. Lily, what's the matter with you?tell me quickly!The husband was in a hurry. After a while, Li Wanruo raised her red and swollen heels and shook her head.

he died.she says. who died president.Our Kennedy was assassinated... Ah - the president was killed?Baohe couldn't help being dumbfounded after hearing this. Li Wanruo recalled the scene at that time still fresh in his memory today: I was an intern in the hospital that day, and suddenly someone said that there was important news on TV, so we quickly turned on the TV, and saw the eyes of the famous host Walter Kangkai at a glance. Weeping, which is something we have never seen on TV.Like Zhao Zhongxiang of China Central Television, Walter Kangkai is a well-known male announcer in the United States.As soon as he opened his mouth that day, he reported the news of President Kennedy's assassination in a very heavy and sad tone.This news was really a bolt from the blue for Americans.Because at that time all Americans had a state of fascination with Kennedy.For those of us who study abroad, the feelings for the host country need to be slowly established.This is how my feelings for America have grown little by little.The unfortunate murder of President Kennedy also seemed to bring me closer to the United States.From that day on, I realized that I was an American who gradually integrated my emotions and body into the United States.In particular, the ideas advocated by Kennedy resonated strongly with the ideals I pursued as a new generation of young people at that time. From then on, I began to lean toward the American Democratic Party in thought, and have been one of the Asian leaders of the Democratic Party since then...

On November 25, 1963, three days after Kennedy was assassinated, the young president revered by the nation was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Li Wanruo looked very excited.She paused and continued: President Kennedy made another extremely important contribution, including us Chinese, that is, when he was in office, he revised the Immigration Act, agreeing and allowing immigrants in the United States to transfer them to non-U.S. The family members and children of the family were reunited with the United States.This contribution is really important to immigrants.A considerable number of our overseas Chinese in the United States have benefited from Kennedy's contribution.After Kennedy was assassinated, he was replaced by Vice President Johnson.The Chinese are very familiar with this character because he fought with us Chinese on the Vietnam battlefield for more than ten years when he was in office.The whole failure of Johnson's life is that he decided this unjust war that made the United States into a quagmire, and his merits and demerits at home are also mixed.In fact, Johnson played a historic role in the development of American society during his administration.This is the concept of the big society he introduced.

The big society is called Creat Society in English.Its theme means: We live together in this society, and the poor and the rich enjoy fair treatment.Johnson's idea of ​​a big society was the anti-poverty and anti-hunger movement throughout the country.Because in the idea of ​​American fire, since they are all the people of God, everyone should have the right to ask for a better life. After graduating from Huada University, my husband happened to change jobs and needed to return to Los Angeles.So Li Wanruo, who left California four years ago, and her family crossed from Seattle to Los Angeles, California, which later became their permanent residence.

Those days were very quiet for Li Wanruo.Because of romantic love and being a mother for several years as a master's student, all the debts have been paid off at this time, and the salary income of her husband's new job is also relatively good, so after buying a house in Huntington Beach, Southern California, she really became a housewife. The surrounding residents are all native-born white Americans, and her children all speak English, but at home, like many Chinese immigrants, she only allows her children to speak Chinese.If Li Wanruo was a housewife, she still had a wish in her heart. When she married Chen Baohe, someone once warned her husband, saying that if you find a celebrity like Li Wanruo as your wife, how can you be happy?If Li Wanruo has a strong nature, she wants to prove that she is also a woman with emotions and family values.So, she practiced with all her heart and soul, taking care of the housework and children.

However, managing the family belongs to managing the family. Li Wanruo, who had great ambitions since she was a child, is destined not to stay at home forever as a housewife. There were two things that deeply touched her soul: one was a white housewife in the neighbor's house, who seemed to be living a comfortable and happy life, and never chatted with Li Wanruo.This white housewife only knows how to make bread, but she knows nothing about the outside world and can't speak a word. What makes Li Guiruo uncomfortable is that the white housewife doesn't understand what is going on with people from ethnic minorities. It is very conceptually determined: those are lazy people who rely on American social welfare.But he also said: You are very special, you can speak English well, and you treat people with enthusiasm and sincerity.Although the white housewife flattered Li Wanruo by saying this, it did not change Li Wanruo's views on those American housewives who had no ambitions.But Li Wanruo knows that all this is the result of only knowing how to take care of the children at home, cooking, not reading, and not contacting the society.She suddenly realized that if she continued like this, wouldn't she be the same as this white woman?no!It must not go on like this!

The second matter was about her daughter.One day, Ke Yu and her went to the street and saw a black man, shouting: Mom!Mother!She asked her daughter what's the matter?The daughter pointed to the black man and asked in surprise: Why is that man so black?Li Wanruo's heart was shocked: She didn't know that she was also a yellow-skinned person of color! These two incidents made Li Wanruo reflect on his original belief that living in a white community and living in such an environment would be 100% beneficial for him to integrate into mainstream American society and raise his children to be Americans; Putting oneself in a small circle like the narrow family environment of the so-called white community is not conducive to one's own development, but also harmful to the education of one's own next generation.

When he was in a state of confusion, Ruth Packard, a good friend from Huada University, came to Li Wanruo’s home. When they talked, Ruth said to her: The United States is carrying out anti-poverty programs and needs a lot of work. talents for social welfare work.You are a tough man, finding a job is not a problem, so that the profession you have learned will come in handy. The old classmate's words touched Li Wanruo's heart.After discussing with her husband that day, Li Wanruo started calling to seek employment in social services.As a result, as soon as they heard that she was a master's student majoring in social work, they immediately offered positions in three institutions for her to choose from.Li Wanruo imagined that the diploma in his hand was so valuable and popular!Now she picked a job she liked in the social work department of the county hospital.

Chinese people have only gradually become familiar with the concept of community in the past two years.The concept of community actually comes from the West, mainly in the United States.In American society under the capitalist system, apart from the administrative divisions and government agencies of the federal, state, county, and city, there are no grassroots administrative organizations like our Chinese-style communes, townships, village groups, or streets.It can be said that when citizens enjoy full personal freedom, household registration freedom, personal privacy freedom, etc., community building is called by the American people the contribution of the second Declaration of Independence in American society in the 20th century. As soon as Li Wanruo entered the American social work, she took a post in the social work department of the county hospital, which is the most characteristic of Duzhou.This is a profession that focuses on the elderly, children and women who are abused, sick and deprived of help and protection.And it is this profession that has the most direct and deep contact with American society, which enables Li Wanruo to participate in and understand the governance of the American national body more than other ordinary immigrants. Some memories are unforgettable. On the first day when she went to work in the county hospital, the head foreman led Li Wanruo around the wards of the hospital. She was surprised to find that none of the hospital patients here belonged to the traditional patients with yellow and emaciated skin, nor were they emergency patients who needed surgery and injections. Those who appear to be physically strong, but mentally extremely decadent or seriously disordered, or even hysterical patients.Once the patients have seizures, the whole hospital is like a noisy railway station waiting room. Our job is to treat these patients with our passion and kindness, not with drugs.The head foreman said to Li Wanruo. This is the first official occupation that our protagonist with a master's degree has engaged in after leaving the American society.And the reason why Li Wanruo was able or willing to devote herself to American politics is precisely because she realized that caring is the whole meaning of social work and national politics. This female politician made a footnote for her participation in politics. . What made Li Wanruo feel so deeply was a very intelligent and highly educated professional Indian woman.That was her original work object.This lady had a happy marriage and then got divorced. Most Americans treat divorce as a child's play, but in fact, the damage done to people, especially women, is often destructive.This Indian lady is a typical one.In front of Li Wanruo, she definitely didn't look like a doctor of Harvard University, but a drunkard with disheveled hair all day long, and even often slept on the street.No medicine can save such patients. Li Wanruo influenced and helped patients day by day according to the hospital's regulations and her own knowledge, and more importantly, the kindness and tenderness of being a woman, until the Indian female doctor brought her Bright laughter went back to work. What is social work?My personal feeling at the time was: I was like a firefighter putting out a fire.When you can't relax at all every day, you have to devote yourself to it all the time. Of course, it's not like a firefighter putting out your life to put out a fire. We use all your personal efforts to put out the fire.Because if you don’t put all your heart and soul into it, your work will not bear fruit, and work that does not bear fruit is not due diligence.Li Wanruo has won the appreciation of the hospital and colleagues with such professionalism.Two years later she was promoted to Chief Superintendent of Hospital Social Work.Two years later she was promoted to Director of Social Services. Just then, she received a government paperwork making her from Chinese to American. When she went to work, she excitedly told her colleagues: I have received the long-awaited notification of naturalization in the United States of America!The colleagues were stunned: Lily, seeing how devoted you are to work, we all thought you were our fellow Americans long ago!It seems that this Chinese woman is very popular. Lily, the dean has urgent business with you.A few days later, a colleague told Li Wanruo mysteriously, and by the way, told her the room number on the XX building. If Li Wan thought it wrong, why didn't the dean talk to me in the office?When she walked into the room with doubts like this, suddenly the lights in front of her eyes flashed, and then there was applause. Lily, we are all here today to celebrate your official citizenship of the United States!The director of the hospital came over and hung a beautiful red, blue and white wreath around Li Wanruo's neck, and then waved his right hand vigorously into the air, so all the men and women in the room raised their heads with pride and sang the American national anthem loudly... At that moment, tears welled up in Li Wanruo's eyes, because from now on, she is a yellow-skinned, black-eyed American. Like all white and black brothers and sisters, she is a full-fledged citizen of the Stars and Stripes, and owns all that it has. Conferred rights and responsibilities, Lily, we are all proud to have someone of your caliber as a citizen of the United States.What do you see?Several female companions who lived with Li Guiruo day and night took two mounted Chinese paintings and said sincerely: We know that you love the culture of your mother country very much, so we specially invited a carpenter from the hospital to install a frame for this Chinese painting. frame, from now on you can hang them high in your office, let us also enjoy the influence of oriental culture! This scene was something that Li Wanruo never thought of.To be honest, since the first day she arrived in the United States, Li Wanruo, like all Chinese students who are planning to settle in the United States, is eager to get a green card and become an official American citizen as soon as possible. Book, and the heart is extremely complicated, because it means that you will become a married daughter, and how can a daughter who has left her mother not feel a kind of nostalgia?And Li Wanruo saw that the American compatriots in front of her understood her thoughts so much and asked her to hang the two Chinese paintings that she had kept in the drawer in the office. She was very grateful for her good intentions. This year, Li Wanruo was named one of the top ten outstanding youths in Los Angeles by the city committee, and her outstanding work achievements were recognized by the local American society.