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Local Citizens Involved

Click to see original imageThe outpouring of generosity by local citizens toward the approximately 20 Vietnamese who have settled in Utah County since leaving their homeland several weeks ago is worthy of comment. Thursday’s Herald carried a feature story of the assistance rendered one of these families by Provoans. As reflected in that story, with very few exceptions, those contacted for help have “gone the extra mile” in meeting not only the physical but the severe emotional needs which these people certainly must be experiencing. However much they have been helped by Americans, we likewise have benefited from their arrival. As a nation, we need opportunities like this to reaffirm in our national conscience that we are not as bad as recent events seem to indicate to some. Indeed, in spite of all the dirty linen we have been washing in public lately, and the masochistic tendencies which we as a nation sometimes seem to have, our national heart is still good and strong. All around us we have heard of the decay of the American society. This is the cry of the weak, the misinformed and the pessimistic. While some decay does no doubt exist, it simply serves to reflect the overall strength of our system of government and the genuine human qualities of American people. The Herald commends those who have already helped and urges those who will be contacted for additional assistance, including and expecially , jobs for those refugees needing work, to respond willingly to hasten their complete integration into the mainstream of American society. America has always been known as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Generous acts such as this by individuals citizens prove once again that, current problems notwithstanding, such is still the case.