The chief announcer of the final Fiesta rodeo performance on Sunday afternoon, August 6, welcomed the audience by saying that the riders in the performance wished to dedicate the event to “all those who were born in America.”
Born on July 28, 1927, I was proud that I was the first member of my family to be born in California, but 90 years later, I’m ashamed to hear any American, and in Santa Barbara of all places, deny so blatantly the continuously diverse origins and rich history of what America is, what it means, and what it stands for.