I had the honor of becoming a US citizen today. I wanted to share my thoughts on what it means to me to be an American from someone who has just become one.
I hope that this may remind some people who may have forgotten.
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”
This is the pledge that many natural-born Americans have probably never said with their hands over their heart since high school.
People have asked me why I am trying to become a US citizen now of all times.
The last five words of the pledge of allegiance define that reason. The US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (incidentally the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice) said “The only title in our democracy superior to that of president is the title of citizen.”
The USA is a democracy. The citizens are the ones in control. Power will never be ceded to any one individual. I have been a legal resident in Massachusetts and California since 2000. The oath ceremony today does not change much in my everyday life but it does allow me to fully participate in my civic life as a citizen that has been codified for generations in the Declaration of Independence and the US constitution.
I am now finally free to exercise all of the rights of an American, without any fear of retribution. I also have the responsibility to “support and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
I’ve lived in the US for 17 years. It was the best decision in my life to move here. I found economic success, as well as an amazing life partner beyond my wildest dreams, and lifelong friends. I also largely found a culture of fairness and inclusion, wherever I traveled within the 50 states.
Americans are a warm and giving people. The vast majority of the 325 million citizens of which I am now one are immigrants — either in the last few years or many generations ago, but hardly any of us are native to the land on which we reside. The people who have made the USA their home are from literally every corner of the world.
My wife and I had lunch at a well known restaurant after my oath ceremony. She let people know what we were celebrating and everyone shared an immigrant story of either themselves or someone close to them. America is unique. It is mainly a country of immigrants.
As part of my naturalization papers, I was given a citizens’ almanac that included information on past US Presidents. I thought I would share an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address, which was made this week 156 years ago. 1861 was a very difficult year in America’s history, with huge divisions across the nation. It puts today’s differences in stark relief and is a great reminder, not only for those of us who are just now becoming citizens, but also for those who had their last civics lessons when they were children.
By the frame of the Government under which we live, this same people have wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief, and have with equal wisdom provided for the return of that little to their own hands at very short intervals. While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no Administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four years.
No matter the rhetoric, America was created with a system of checks and balances that will not allow any one individual to change the will of the people…and that remains liberty and justice for all.
I am proud to have become a US citizen at 10.19am PT today.
