About the Statue of Liberty’s Right Foot…

Even in the LEGO model, she’s walking forward

Have you ever wondered about the Statue of Liberty’s right foot?

This week my grandkids and I assembled the Statue of Liberty out of 1,684 LEGO pieces (the box promises 1,685, but the topmost piece was missing, so my grandson crafted an even better flame from his stash).

Note the substitute torch, and the broken chains at her feet

We learned more about Lady Liberty from a beautiful children’s book by Dave Eggers, Her Right Foot, published in 2017 on the heels of Trump’s “Muslim ban” executive order.

One day a Frenchman named Édouard de Laboulaye had an idea…

He wanted the people of France to gift the US a monument in celebration of the recent Union victory in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. He convinced Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi to design the statue. Bartholdi recognized that the New York harbor was the gateway to America, and on that Bedloe’s Island she’d be visible to every ship entering the harbor. The French people would pay for “Liberty Enlightening the World” and the American people would fund the base she stands on.

Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay,
The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away:
Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest hight they hand
To spread the light of liberty world-wide for every land.
—Henry Van Dyke

The statue was constructed in Paris, 151 feet high, with the underlying structure designed by Gustave Eiffel. She was coated with a layer of copper, the depth of two pennies. She was then taken apart and shipped in 214 boxes to New York, to be reassembled onsite. She was dedicated October 28, 1886.

The book she carries features the date July IV, MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776 if you have forgotten your Roman numerals) on which the Declaration of Independence was signed.

But there is one thing that you might not know, and this is the central point to this book—a point the author apologizes for taking so long to get to… The point is that even if you have seen hundreds of pictures of the Statue of Liberty, you probably have not seen pictures of her feet. And even if you have seen pictures of her feet, you probably have not seen pictures of the back of her feet. In particular, her right foot.

That’s right! She is going somewhere! She is on the move!…
At her feet are broken chains, implying she has freed herself from bondage.

Here is an idea. Here is a theory. Here is a reminder.

After all, the Statue of Liberty is an immigrant too. And this is why she is moving. This is why she’s striding. In welcoming the poor, the tired, the struggling to breathe free. She is not content to wait.

The inscription at her base always makes me teary.

Team Liberté!

You can hear/see the whole book being read on YouTube, if you want the full deal. Even better, buy the book and the LEGO model #21042—while it’s still available.

---

---

PUT YOURSELF IN THE WAY OF BEAUTY

Beachside bike racks, ready for the tourist season soon upon us in Veyrier-du-Lac.