Does citizenship mean anything any more?

Question

If so, why isn't it demanded of our students and citizens?
Is it because illegal aliens has made it mean nothing?

Answer 1

It gives you a vote. Its probably don't demanded by citizens becuse they already have it!

Answer 2

I've been thinking about this question for a couple days, and almost didn't want to venture an answer because I was afraid it was motivated by emotion which is a difficult (if not impossible) thing to argue againt. But when I thought of the evidence I had, I decided it was worth saying something...

On the one hand, I know people who truly love this country. Some have worked hard and sacrificed much not only to be here, but to become a citizen of this nation. I know people for whom the fourth of July is THE holiday of the year, and who want to hang a flag in their home but hesistate because they wouldn't want to disrepect it in any way.

These people see America not only as the strongest nation in the world, but as a shining beacon of hope and democracy that calls to every person in the world. Nor are they all wearing rose-coloured glasses, either... some are more then ready to acknowledge that America and its people aren't perfect. But they'll point out that there don't seem to be much of anybody doing a whole lot better. Nor are all these people that I know immigrants (though some are), many are just as proud having been raised in this 'land of opportunity'.

Obviously, to these people citizenship is NOT meaningless. For a few, I would even go so far as to say that citizenship is almost the central meaning around which their lives turn. Those I have spoken to about illegal immigrants certainly don't approve of it any more than they approve of other illegal activities. But many of them claim to understand it - who, after all, would steal something that wasn't valuable? The high number of illegal immigrants only shows how precious being an American is. One suggested that giving people a taste can only make them want to have the whole thing if they can - and thus to change their native lands or strive for legitimacy here. And while some have trouble seeing past the crime, others are magnaminous enough to want to share citizenship with anybody willing to claim it and otherwise be good citizens (they want LESS tests instead of more).

After all, there are many people who take the motto inscribed on the Statue of Liberty QUITE seriously.

To balance things, I considered people I know who do not value American citizenship. And I know some who value it so little that they do their best to disguise the very fact that they are American. Some are thinking of leaving the country entirely, and I know one fellow who is considering gaining citizenship in another country but staying in America to be near his family and just obtaining some kind of green card or the like. That he might go to so much trouble and expense to change nothing in his life BUT the fact of his citizenship makes him seem like almost the opposite of the above group to me.

Yet the reasons I get for these people for their indifference or dislike of American citizenship seem to have little to do with illegal aliens either. Though some will use it as PART of a reason they are upset with the way things are, it usually seems to be more because of the things that lead to some laws being enforced more than others or things that prevent some tasks from getting done. In other words, corruption, politics, and expediency and profit over ethics.

And these kinds of things, not immigration, seem to be the real issue. Loss or non-universiality of freedoms. Atrocities committed in the name of America. Secrets fostered by those in power. Money overriding democracy. Historical and present lies being spread as truth... even in schools. The two party system (one argued that the difference between America and fascism is one party - and less than that whenever the two parties are indistinguishable). And, for that matter, the whole voting system.

To my knowledge, these kinds of things frustrate just about everybody (except their beneficiaries), and their existence seems almost factually indisputable. I suppose the main difference between the fans and the critics would only be the relative significance of these things; whether America is great in spite of them or whether it sucks because of them.

And when I asked the critics whether they thought that making citizenship more restrictive or demanding tests for those born in the country would help, most of them seemed mortified at the idea. Some thought we needed more voters and more diversity in votes and some just didn't trust the government to be able to do the job well enough ("if they can't even collect votes without being corrupt and incompetent, how can they possibly design and administer tests that reward people with citizenship!").

I think, however, that you may be right in at least one respect. Many seem to attach little value to citizenship because it's something that's handed to them freely on a platter. Having never experienced any other way, to many it is a right that they feel they instrinsically have, not a privelege that is denied to them in most places in the world. So far as I can tell, though, lawbreakers have almost nothing to do with the picture.