Editor’s note: Eva Rush Williams was born in 1900 in what is now Poland and came to the United States when she was 11. She learned English and went from first through seventh grade in two years. At 14, her father passed away so she joined the workforce. While working at a factory she put herself through a stenography course in the evenings and went to work for an attorney, whom she eventually married. She had two children but wanted a life outside the home, setting up shop as a public stenographer at a New York City hotel.
She published many letters in The New York Times that dealt with the pressing political issues of her time. She wrote to presidents, senators and representatives, and a few famous people.
Her granddaughter, Kandy Hirsch, lives in Tucson and recently found this essay, submitted in 1939 to the radio show America’s Town Hall Meeting of the Air, among her grandmother’s writings.
Democracy to me means more than mere lip service. It represents all that is noble and worthwhile. In fact, it has been and is everything in the world to me. Everything I am, everything I ever hope to be, I shall attribute to America, the cradle of democracy.
But for America what would I have amounted to, and where would I now be? Somewhere in what was once Austria, struggling under the yoke of Hitlerism, forever doomed to slavery, and relegated to the Jewish ghetto, to live in physical and mental terror lest the strong-arm storm troopers swoop down upon me and mine and do us harm or exterminate us completely.
As it is, democratic America opened up its liberty-loving arms to me; gave me the opportunity to educate myself; made me self-supporting; enabled me to marry a fine American; made it possible for me to be blessed with a fine son and daughter, who, I am sure, will be a credit to their country in the years to come, because they are being reared in an atmosphere of peace, liberty, freedom and equal opportunity, which America affords all of its children.
Morning and night I offer up a prayer of thanks to the Good Lord for having been so kind as to have steered my ship of fate into the Port of Democracy, where civil and religious liberty, freedom of thought and expression — freedom of congregation and speech, can be exercised by its fortunate citizens to the fullest extent, and in an unhampered manner — a thing that is only possible in a democracy.
Democracy to me is a blessing — not in disguise — but open, human and vital — a direction toward freedom and culture, based in the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
My interest and deep concern is wrapped up in the cause of maintaining and preserving that precious heritage (democracy), because it spells for liberty and freedom for humanity. Toward that end I am dedicating myself whole-heartedly. Democracy is not a static thing. It is not something we can take for granted and expect it to take care of itself. Democracy is worth fighting for, and it need not necessarily take the form of deadly weapons. We must be vigilant and alert, lest the evil forces that are jealous of it, will destroy it. Le us be open-minded and guard and protect democracy with zeal, intelligence and spirit.
With my pen, my voice and my vote, wand with every fiber of my being, I shall fight for democracy and freedom.
