Long Islanders share their memories as well as their disappointments and concerns about life today.

Opinion

Voices

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Growing up in a military family, I had plenty of opportunities to sing “God Bless America.” Forty years ago, when I eventually set down roots after moving all over the country with the Navy, I found out that our unofficial national anthem was written right here on Long Island. 
More than 100 years ago, Irving Berlin wrote the song as the finale for a show he was producing at Camp Upton in Suffolk County, now Brookhaven National Laboratory, when he was a sergeant in the Army and training there for World War I, then called the Great War. He cut the song from the camp show “Yip, Yip, Yaphank” but saved the sheet music. Berlin was born in Russia and immigrated to New York City as a child. 
In 1938, singer Kate Smith’s agent reached out to Berlin for a song to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Armistice Day, now called Veterans Day. Berlin remembered the song he wrote in Yaphank about his adopted country, tweaked it a bit and sent it to Smith. She sang “God Bless America” on her popular radio show on Nov. 10 (the day before the holiday) and said afterward, “It’s something more than a song. . . . I feel it’s one of the most beautiful compositions that was ever written. . . . A song that will never die.” 
“God Bless America” became the patriotic song of World War II and beyond. Both Berlin and Smith used the song for the war effort and for American charities. Today, the song is sung at many different kinds of events: patriotic ceremonies, sorrowful commemorations, baseball and football games, in churches and schools. Berlin’s sheet music and Smith’s recording of the song are preserved in the Library of Congress. 
As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday and sing our unofficial anthem at local events, “God Bless America” reminds me of the beauty and resolve of the United States. Written on Long Island during one world war and publicized just before the next, “God Bless America” stands the test of time because its themes of gratitude and pride for our nation still ring true: 
“Let us all be grateful for a land so fair. . . . God bless America.” 
 &nbsp; 
Jeanne Knudsen is a retired social studies teacher in the Longwood school district who was on the National Constitution Center’s Teacher Advisory Council.

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'God Bless America' was born on Long Island

'God Bless America' born here, rings true

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I’ve spent 17 years as a business attorney negotiating mergers and acquisitions and other complex transactions worth billions of dollars. I’ve read thousands of pages of dense legal contracts for a living. And I couldn’t successfully navigate the process of getting my name on a ballot in Suffolk County. 
That’s not a confession. It’s an indictment. 
I ran for Congress as an independent in New York’s 1st Congressional District. I needed at least 3,500 signatures from registered voters just to appear on the ballot. I came up short. 
But what I experienced across Suffolk County should concern everyone on Long Island, regardless of party. 
I had hundreds of conversations with Republicans, Democrats and independents. The frustration with both major parties is real, widespread and largely unrepresented. Many voters I met do not strongly support either party. Instead, I found people who feel trapped, forced to pick the lesser of two evils every cycle while watching Long Island’s biggest problems go unaddressed. 
One conversation stays with me. I spoke with a registered Republican who told me within the first minute he was staunchly opposed to abortion. I favor abortion rights. We disagreed and we both knew it. But we talked for 20 minutes about the cost of living, raising a family here, and what it takes to get by on Long Island. He signed my petition. Not because we agreed on everything, but because he believed Long Island deserved a representative who would actually show up and listen. 
That interaction was the norm. 
Yet the system is designed to ensure that voters like him never get that choice. New York’s independent petition requirements are among the most burdensome in the country. Major party candidates need a fraction of the signatures that an independent does (1,250 vs. 3,500). The collection window is narrow. The rules are technical enough that even valid signatures routinely get thrown out on procedural grounds, such as listing the village or hamlet and not the township — which many voters did. This isn’t about protecting ballot integrity. It’s about protecting incumbents. 
If I found the process difficult to navigate as an attorney, imagine what it looks like to those not used to fine print who want to run. That’s by design. 
I didn’t take a single donation. No PAC money. No special interest funding. I ran this campaign on my own dime because I wanted to prove a point: You shouldn’t need to sell yourself to donors to run for office. You just need to show up. 
And what I found confirmed something I already suspected. We’re far more aligned than the money wants us to believe. The special interest dollars that flow into our politics don’t just fund campaigns. They fund division. They need us to split into teams so we don’t notice we agree on the things that actually matter: Our taxes are too high (especially with the SALT cap snapping back to $10,000 in 2030), our infrastructure is crumbling, and nobody in Washington is fighting for Long Island. 
Some people told me an independent couldn’t win. But what I also heard over and over was more damning: Someone should try. Long Island voters want representatives who answer to our community first. Not to party leadership in Albany or Washington. They want someone who asks a simple question: Does this help Long Island? The machinery of ballot access makes it difficult for anyone outside the two-party system to even ask. 
The conversations I had revealed something the ballot won’t show: The appetite for independent representation on Long Island isn’t fringe. It’s far broader than our political system acknowledges. 
New York can fix this. Lower the signature thresholds for independents. Extend the collection window. Standardize the validation process so valid signatures aren’t discarded on technicalities. These aren’t radical reforms. They are basic democratic hygiene. 
Until then, the two-party stranglehold wins by default. 
I didn’t make the ballot this time. But I’m not going anywhere. And the next person who tries this shouldn’t have to fight the system just to give Long Island a choice. 
 &nbsp; 
Ian R. Cohen is an attorney and the founder of IRC Legal in Dix Hills.

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Here's what it's like trying to get on a ballot

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For generations, residents of Glenwood Landing, New York, ZIP code 11547, have been denied a service that most Americans take for granted: residential mail delivery. 
While people in neighboring communities such as Sea Cliff, Glen Head, Brookville and Roslyn Harbor receive mail directly at their homes, Glenwood Landing residents must go to the local post office to retrieve it from post office boxes. This burden affects everyone, especially seniors, residents with mobility challenges and working families. 
So what’s the reason behind no mail delivery here? There’s a United States Postal Service rule that requires a minimum of 750 delivery addresses per route for direct carrier delivery that Glenwood Landing didn’t originally meet. 
Today, Glenwood Landing is a well-established Nassau County suburb surrounded by neighborhoods with full residential delivery. Residents support the same postal system and reasonably expect equal treatment. 
Recent discussions about increasing post office box fees have heightened concerns. When residents have no practical alternative for receiving mail, it is fair to question whether they receive the same level of service as neighboring communities. 
The USPS should explain why Glenwood Landing continues to be excluded from residential mail delivery even as the number of addresses here has increased. Current conditions warrant a formal review. 
This is not merely a matter of convenience but of fairness and equal access to a basic public service. The residents of Glenwood Landing deserve answers. 
 &nbsp; 
Jeremy Barth lives in Glenwood Landing.

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Living with no mail delivery

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As I write this, I am sitting in my daughter’s nursery, rocking my 8-month-old baby to sleep. Like many parents, these quiet moments are among my favorite parts of the day. My daughter rests her head on my shoulder, feeling safe, loved and protected. 
Recently, while scrolling through social media, I came across handwritten letters and drawings from children being held at Dilley Immigration Processing Center. The images had been shared by Ms. Rachel, a children’s educator whose videos are familiar to many parents. The children were asking adults to help them and to speak up on their behalf. 
As I looked at their drawings and read their words, I found myself looking down at my daughter. I imagined what it would feel like if she were frightened, confused and separated from the people she trusted most. 
I know that immigration policy is a complex, often divisive issue. Americans can reasonably disagree about border security, enforcement and the specifics of immigration law. But when it comes to children, there is common ground. 
Children are not political talking points. They are developing human beings with emotional, psychological and physical needs. Regardless of where they were born or how they arrived in this country, children depend on caring adults for safety, stability and support. 
As a healthcare professional, I know that childhood experiences shape lifelong health. Research has repeatedly shown that chronic stress and trauma can affect brain development, emotional regulation, learning and physical health. Young children are especially vulnerable because their brains and bodies are still developing. 
Every day at my family medicine practice, I see how important secure relationships are for healthy development. Children seek comfort when they are afraid. They look to trusted adults for reassurance and protection. These needs are universal. They do not change based on nationality, language or immigration status. 
This is not a partisan issue for me. It is a human one. 
I am not writing as a politician, an activist or an expert in immigration law. I am writing as a nurse practitioner who understands child development and as a mother who spends her evenings rocking her daughter to sleep. I saw children asking for help and felt a responsibility to listen. 
We can have thoughtful discussions about immigration policy while still recognizing our shared responsibility to protect children. Compassion and security do not have to be opposing values. We can uphold our laws while ensuring that children are treated with dignity and that their well-being remains at the center of decisions that affect them. 
The children whose letters I saw may never know whether their words reached anyone beyond the walls around them. But their messages reached me. 
If you wish to help these children, call your member of Congress and ask them to sign Rep. Joaquin Castro’s letter to close the Dilley detention center. 
Tonight, as I hold my daughter close, I hope those children know that someone heard them. 
 &nbsp; 
Alexandria Odell is a family nurse practitioner and resident of Holbrook.

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Stop playing politics with children's lives

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