We attended a \u201cCitizenship\u201d party this past weekend \u2014 a friend became a US Citizen, and a number of people got together to celebrate.
\nAs big days go, I suspect this must be one of the biggest for these new citizens \u2014 they become eligible to serve on a jury, run for office, vote and lots of other things we take for granted. Cathy was born in Ireland and had to become a US Citizen through a long process called naturalization. First, a person must be at least eighteen years old and must have been a legal resident for at least five years \u2014 display good moral character and loyalty to the United States. To become a citizen, people must be able to read, write and speak English, have knowledge and understanding of United States history and government and believe in the US Constitution \u2014 and be willing to take an oath of loyalty to the United States. If, and only if, they meet these requirements can they submit an application for citizenship. Then they must take an exam to prove they meet the conditions of becoming a citizen. Finally, they take an oath of allegiance in court. And then they\u2019re Americans \u2014 Americans by choice.
\nTheodore Roosevelt once said, \u201cNothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, or difficulty.\u201d I\u2019d bet that naturalized citizens believe that.<\/p>\n
Most of us inherited US Citizenship \u2014 we didn\u2019t earn it. We have been bequeathed our opportunities and freedom by the deeds, commitments and spilled blood of Americans who came before us. But America is not and never will be a finished project. We have been handed a work in progress that continues evolve in the direction we choose. There is a sense \u2014 I think more so among the younger generation, that being an American Citizen is no big deal, with no obligation attached to it.<\/p>\n
Most of us \u201cnatural born\u201d citizens take our government for granted. If you\u2019ve traveled extensively or lived abroad, you realize how wonderful our government really is. Certainly graft and corruption occurs, but it doesn\u2019t happen on the scale you see in other countries. Government bribes are part of every day business in many, many countries. We have consistent, peaceful transfer of power every few of years \u2014 we don\u2019t have coups in the US. How many countries can say that? The US has a well tested, democratic process where power is peacefully handed over to newly elected officials. This has happened consistently over the course of our 200-plus year history.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to have traveled to a lot, if not most, places in the world and once you\u2019re out of the country for any extended period of time, you realize all the \u201cstupid\u201d little things that you miss that all of us take for granted every day. We have running water \u2014 hot<\/em> running water, electricity, toilet paper and bathrooms<\/em>, sidewalks, paved roads, cars, a bed to sleep in, a room, house or space to call our own, public schools, television and freedom \u2014 freedom of choice<\/em>, whether it be in the voting booth or choosing a restaurant or a pair of shoes\u2026. So as I think about all these things I\u2019m pretty sure most of us \u201cnatural born\u201d citizens don\u2019t fully appreciate what it means to be an American Citizen. It means many things, but the bottom line is that we are all responsible for watching over and protecting our own democracy \u2014 making it work for all of us and passing it along to our children better than we inherited it. I think that I accept that responsibility \u2014 I\u2019m sure<\/em> our new citizen Cathy does. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We attended a \u201cCitizenship\u201d party this past weekend \u2014 a friend became a US Citizen, and a number of people got together to celebrate. As big days go, I suspect this must be one of the biggest for these new … Continue reading
\nIf I want to write this blog, all I have to do is log in, write what\u2019s on my mind and hit the publish button. and you can open it and read it any time you wish \u2014 just like you can thousands of other things on the Internet. But that\u2019s a different story in many countries \u2014if I write something the government doesn\u2019t agree with, it\u2019s blocked and you can\u2019t read it. Just another of the many freedoms we take for granted.<\/p>\n
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n