Thread by @bansisharma

1. Is America Still A Land of Opportunity?

WSJ provides an answer ... rather indirectly. Be patient with this one, because I want you to savor it the way I did.

2. Few people expect to be inspired when they show up for a speech by the head of a federal regulatory agency. Most people choose not to show up at all unless they are seeking to avoid or inflict regulatory punishment of some kind or another.

3. But this week in Washington, attendees at something called the National Diversity Coalition’s town hall meeting received an unexpected treat.

Jelena McWilliams, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), decided to share some personal reflections.

4. Jelena McWilliams said, "I was born in the former Yugoslavia, on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, to a family of great character and humble means. Neither of my parents went to high school." ...

5. As an impoverished teenager, my father fought in World War II as millions of civilians were slaughtered across Eastern Europe. As the post-war recovery took shape, educating girls was not a priority, and men were needed to guard the borders, not perform calculus.

6. Education was not even an option for my parents. Still, years later, these two uneducated, humble people instilled in their daughter a belief that education was the only path upwards. As I grew up, I became increasingly convinced that my destiny was in the United States.

7. From our modest surrounding in the Balkans, the United States looked like a brilliant jewel, a beacon of hope, a land of opportunity – “a shining city on a hill”. It was a land where someone who worked hard and developed skills could achieve pretty much anything.

8. At least that is what American TV shows like “Dynasty” and “Dallas” led me to believe.
When I told my parents that I saw my future in the United States of America, they were crushed for I was — and still am — their beloved daughter.

9. After much debate and persuasion, my father said to me: “Why do you want to go a place where you are always going to be a second class citizen?”

10. Without pause, I responded: “I would rather be a second class citizen in another country than the one I was born in. All I want is an opportunity and I will make something out of it.”

11. With much sadness and concern, my parents gave me their blessing and borrowed money from a family friend for my airplane ticket and new luggage, which left me with $500 and my parents with debt that took years to repay.

12. "I spent my 18th birthday on a plane en route to the United States, with those $500 tucked in the pocket of my jeans and the dream that I could make it."

13. End of her story in her own words. Needless to say, today she is the head of one of the most powerful agencies of the United States of America. So it would be fair to say she made it.

14. This is not only her story though. Details differ, but essence is the same for so many millions of immigrants to this land of opportunity and grace and fairness and so much more. You will rarely see it or hear about it in the media, but spend some time with some immigrants.

15. And I am not talking about the great waves of immigration of generations long ago. I am talking about immigrants from the last 10, 20, 30, 40 years. Most may not have made it to the pinnacles of success, but few are disappointed if they came here with good education.

16. You may think it's all about the potential financial rewards. It's all about the money. If you scratch beneath the surface, you soon find out how much of it is not. Financial rewards are nice. They are almost always earned through hard work.

17. But once the basics are taken care of, there's something else that matters much more. There are actually two things even more important than money. For all its faults, America is the least discriminatory nation on earth. Not quite perfect, but the best there actually is.

18. And there is one other thing. Native born Americans mostly take it for granted, but immigrants, especially the ones from the less advanced environs, feel it in their bones. And that is the Rule of Law. There's nothing more important ... nothing!

The End.