As many of you probably know, I became an American citizen today. (Hooray!)
What interested me was the oath I had to say during my citizenship ceremony. Here it is:
"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."
The part that especially interested me was the first few lines, where one must renounce allegiance and fidelity to any other countries. But if we do that, are we cutting off ties to our previous nationality? And even if we say it (we repeated the oath after the coordinator), does it make it true?
I recognize that much of the ceremony has a presymbolic meaning: we are officially uniting ourselves with the community. But does that mean we must "renounce" any past ties we had to other communities, in order to officially become part of this one?
More confusingly, I believe that the US allows dual citizenship (I'm not sure.) I also hold Canadian citizenship, so in the process of becoming an American one, did I just disconnect myself from Canada?
Finally, one of my friends texted me this note after my ceremony: "Congrats on becoming an American." But wasn't I already an American? At least when we discussed it in class earlier, isn't an American anyone who thinks that he's American? Did becoming a citizen make me "more" American than I was before?
Those were just a few puzzling thoughts I had. Nevertheless, of course I'm proud to be an official American citizen now. Thoughts?
(Eric)
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6 comments:
Well, as was drilled into our heads when reading Hayakawa, the thing is not the thing symbolized. Therefore, doesn't the entire oath that you said not represent what you are actually going to do? I'm sure they aren't going to hunt you down, Eric, if you don't 'break ties' with another foreign country. Honestly, I don't even see how that is possible. Once you have associated yourself with another country, that country is a part of your semantic environment. It's impossible to simple get rid of it.
And we've already beaten the whole 'what makes you American?' argument to the ground. So I'm going to make it short. Everyone's definition of 'being an American' is different. Therefore to some people, you have become more American after you officially became a citizen.
I really do think that the first few lines fall under the category of ritualistic utterances. This type of language is not always necessarily understood by the audience. Rather, it is used to satisfy accepted, traditional procedures. The oath could have been recited in Latin, if such was the custom, and you would not have understood a single thing! Just repeating the oath does not impose its truth upon you. We know, with the help of Hayakawa, that not all language says something. Quite a bit of it is empty. Even if you were to linguistically denounce your past ties to Canada, you are not actually forced to do so. Or are you?
Hmm..your observation about the dual citizenship is odd, for lack of better terms. Is it almost "hypocritical" (the contents of the oath vs. the actual case of having two nationalities)?
Your friend may define being American as being a citizen of the United States of America. You define it as "feeling" American. The last thing you wrote puzzles me, however. You are proud to be an official citizen now, but couldn't you have considered yourself as such without a bunch of paperwork? How do we define an "official citizen"? Is it different than just being American?
(Sam Maliha)
I hadn't seen Mary's post before writing mine. Sorry for some similarities!
(Sam)
Hello
As a yet-to-be American citizen(you beat me, Eric), I was slightly offended by the first few lines of the oath. I don't think it is possible for anyone to cut all the ties to his/her mother country. Personally, I would still love where I came from and care for it even after I become American citizen. However, I do recognize that this oath is more directed toward political concerns.
I believe that the United States allows dual citizenship until you become an adult.
(Jennifer Park)
While I think that the first few lines are a bit harsh, I think there was mostly a national securit and possibly a warm fuzzy American unity goal. It's probably impossible to mean 100% of that oath considering that saying a few words does not represent the ties one feels with one's native land.
It's a little bit similar to a Girl Scout or Boy Scout pledge. Sure you say you're going to be the best little boy/girl in the world, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are, or that you will attempt to be one.
And the American thing has been covered many times. I'm not going there. ;)
(Megan)
What interests me is the part about beariing "arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law." Does that mean that someone born in the U.S., a natural born citizen, who does not say this oath, is not technically bound to the oath, therefore doesn't have to do the things listed?
I notice that the language in this oath is very strong (understandingly), but, as Eric notes, it's almost too strong. There are many parts of this oath that can be broken unintentionally or without mal-intent if the oath it taken 100% literally.
As I mentioned above, what about all the U.S. citizens who do not say this oath?
Emily T.
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