Dual citizenship is the status where a person is considered a citizen in more than one state. There is controversy around the idea that a person who obtains dual citizenship is not fully committed to America. People are debating whether multiple citizenship should be made illegal. Author Mark Krikorian expresses that the allegiance to the United States should be just as serious as vows in a wedding. He further explains "a citizen's duty is to love America, comfort her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, keep only unto her." If you truly love America you would not have the need to essentially "cheat" on her with another country. However, to me it is not that deep. You cannot force a parent to love only one child, just as you cannot force someone with two different cultural backgrounds to pick one country. In other instances it does not even involve their cultural backgrounds, some people just want to live elsewhere. America even gains from that because even if you move to Canada there are still cases where you have to keep paying American taxes. The beauty of America is the freedom we have, so do you believe that dual citizenship is threatening to the state of America or is it too much freedom?
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/05/14/can-dual-citizens-be-good-americans
Joyce Dela Cruz
The idea of dual citizenship being “not American enough” is frankly ridiculous to me. America prides itself on being “a country of immigrants” one minute but then closes its doors the next. Many people complain about the number of illegal immigrants but turn their nose up at the idea of dual citizenship as well. For many people looking to become citizens of the United States, the idea of completely letting go of their previous country of origin is difficult. Like you said, Joyce, asking a person to choose between their two countries is like asking to pick a favorite child. There are also many other legitimate reasons dual citizenship makes sense for someone, though each instance varies. Some may want to own property in the USA as well as back home near their families, some may want to work or attend school in two countries, the list goes on. The point is, the purpose of having dual citizenship is not the “cheat” on the US. It’s not that personal. The “you’re either with us or against us” narrative is bizarre and dangerous. The true measure of whether or not someone is American lies in their ability to contribute to American society, to be a good samaritan. A person with dual citizenship is just as capable of respecting the country as any other citizen.
ReplyDeleteI myself think that Mark Krikorian's idea of a citizenship is preposterous. Just because I live in one place doesn't mean that I have to dedicate myself to that country. As a legal resident (not citizen), his idea of citizenship seems more like a shackle than anything. In fact, this kind of thinking can be toxic because extreme nationalism, knowing history, has not lead us to anywhere good, as in the case of Nazism.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with your point Isabelle. America does like to mention being a country of immigrants. Then it "closes its doors" when it feel like its power is being threatened. That's what this issue is really about. The idea of a person being loyal to two different countries scares America. Questions start to be asked. "Which country do you favor the most?" "What is the purpose of you wanting to obtain a dual citizenship?" But then again, Joyce did make the point that "you cannot force a parent to love only one child". So the only thing that throws off the opposition to dual citizenship is the paranoia that beholders have ulterior motives that involve America.
ReplyDeleteThe notion that dual citizenship is "cheating" is very immature. One of America's perceived highest values is freedom, and if our government tried to ban that it would be very contradictory. Although many bans or laws defy what freedom is. Similar to Linh's point the notion that you have to be 100 percent dedicated to your country has and could possibly breed extreme nationalism, and that historically hasn't turned out well.
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