33. The Golden Gate Bridge

The United States has always been a country of immigrants, immigrants attracted to the idea of liberty. We’ve also always been a country that struggles with immigration. Yet amidst all that conflict we still welcome the idea and the people who cling to it, and our port cities have come to symbolize all that struggle teeming with the ideals of liberty. Of course New York Harbor has the Statue of Liberty but out west in San Francisco we have the Golden Gate Bridge. I love that bridge. I don’t even claim to grasp much of its symbolism but I get enough of it to know it’s a sign of welcoming. Every time I’ve been there people are flocking to it. It’s no big surprise that many of them are Asian, or that many of them are already American citizens just come to remind themselves of the American struggle: the gold rush, the westward migration, the melting pot, the land of ideas. That crazy bridge that crosses the opening of San Francisco Bay is more than just some architectural wonder, it’s a feeling and that feeling is different for every foot that steps on it. Unfortunately for some it’s a feeling of despair because so many suicides are committed by jumping off that bridge. For me it’s beauty of humanity, American humanity and ideals. When the fog obscures most of the bridge you will still see its heights rising above. It represents goodness to me. And I think, for me, the greatest paradox is that it’s in California which is not by any stretch a favorite state for me. So that probably makes me love that bridge even more. I’m always a sucker for symbols. The Golden Gate Bridge is one of those American symbols that I am thankful for.