In the last several years, I've had the distinct honor of singing our National Anthem at two naturalization ceremonies in the federal courthouse in Amarillo. On both occasions, the courtroom was filled with people from all over the world - Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa - all taking the oath of citizenship. At the last ceremony, there was even a diminuitive grandmotherly lady from Afghanistan becoming an American.
After both ceremonies, I had the privilege of speaking to some of these new citizens in their native languages, although I'm sure any of them could have spoken to me in English equal to or better than my German and Polish.
What do these new Americans have in common with my grandparents, who took the same oath nearly a century ago? They all love liberty, and they all followed the rules, securing their citizenship in an orderly and legal way.
Since there are so many people from all over the world who want to secure the same freedoms we Americans enjoy, why don't we just let them all come in?
Unfortunately, not everyone who comes here does so for the right reasons. Whether it's 19 Middle Easterners who choose to fly airliners into skyscrapers, drug dealers or gang member who want to import their violence, or more recently, Russians who are sent as "sleepers" to spy on this country, there are some who come here, not to partake in our liberty, but to subvert it.
That's the real irony.
And as sad as it is, that irony requires us to be a little less naive than we've been in the past.
P.S. I saw the Libery Bell in 1972 on a weekend pass from Army basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. It was still housed in Independence Hall in Philadelphia at the time, and access to it was so unrestricted, I was able to walk up and put my hand on it. There were even small kids climbing up inside of it. So much has changed in these last four decades.
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Political Cartoon is by Marshall Ramsey in The Clarion Ledger.
In the last several years, I've had the distinct honor of singing our National Anthem at two naturalization ceremonies in the federal courthouse in Amarillo. On both occasions, the courtroom was filled with people from all over the world - Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa - all taking the oath of citizenship. At the last ceremony, there was even a diminuitive grandmotherly lady from Afghanistan becoming an American.
ReplyDeleteAfter both ceremonies, I had the privilege of speaking to some of these new citizens in their native languages, although I'm sure any of them could have spoken to me in English equal to or better than my German and Polish.
What do these new Americans have in common with my grandparents, who took the same oath nearly a century ago? They all love liberty, and they all followed the rules, securing their citizenship in an orderly and legal way.
Since there are so many people from all over the world who want to secure the same freedoms we Americans enjoy, why don't we just let them all come in?
Unfortunately, not everyone who comes here does so for the right reasons. Whether it's 19 Middle Easterners who choose to fly airliners into skyscrapers, drug dealers or gang member who want to import their violence, or more recently, Russians who are sent as "sleepers" to spy on this country, there are some who come here, not to partake in our liberty, but to subvert it.
That's the real irony.
And as sad as it is, that irony requires us to be a little less naive than we've been in the past.
P.S. I saw the Libery Bell in 1972 on a weekend pass from Army basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. It was still housed in Independence Hall in Philadelphia at the time, and access to it was so unrestricted, I was able to walk up and put my hand on it. There were even small kids climbing up inside of it. So much has changed in these last four decades.