Today I took my in-laws (I'm such a trooper!) to the 6th Floor Museum, right by the grassy knoll and inside the Book Depository. It is the second time I have visited in the past year. It is a very moving place. Foremost a place to ponder the assassination of JFK, but also to remember the times that were JFK's presidency. A time full of hope and believing in the impossible and being seen as a shining beacon in the world. It was the time of space exploration and of the Peace Corps. A time of civility and a time for due reverence for the arts.

It made me think about how people, including me, flocked to this country because it truly was a place where you believed you could achieve your dreams and aspirations and you could work in concert with others to improve the world. And nothing was impossible. No one would tell you couldn't achieve whatever it was that you aspired to do. And everyone around the world looked to the United States as a great and benevolent place.

Now everytime I visit the museum I get angry that all that has been lost. Yes, sure, people still flock here. But I don't think they flock here to become a part of something great. They come because they have to put food on the table of their families in poor countries around the world, they come to get an education, but they don't come and yearn to become a citizen. And I think that's sad as what America was took place because we embraced so many different cultures as part of the whole.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive