Lady Liberty Weeps: A dream disenchanted addresses one of many avoided subject matters. This land of enchantment as seen from the eyes of the immigrant, as perfect as we envision, rears its ugliness in many ways. As welcoming as some may have experienced, others yearn to be embraced and considered American just as any other. This fictional novel confronts the learned behaviors of racial bias as evident in how some children treat their colleagues. Galen, the main character of this book fell victim to bullying as will be witnessed through discriminatory insults and acts of violence disseminated from these learned biases. Having parents, one may describe as egalitarian, Galen was taught that the rights he was afforded which included the right to be an American, was as deserved as any other person. Denial of such a right either because of racial or ethnic biases, objectively places one in the position of less advantaged, and subjectively to psychological complexes of inferiority. Galen has lived through and survived the stressors of adolescence. His traumatic experience and the strength garnished by four of his teenage friends, proved to hasten a level of maturity not expected of his age group. His belief in God provided strength where there was none to be had through earthly means. Teenage adversity, peer abuse or social insensitivity, regardless of its title, proves damaging to the mental health of our youth. In a society where immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities seem destined to be subjected to abuses, it gives little hope for a better tomorrow. The five friends shared the collective belief that there is good in all of us and were determined to see change blossom from a society that has held on to its prejudices and sought to bring the greatness of America from its dormancy to its wakefulness.
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