AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP

Our Own Definition

Thanks to an article in the Epoch Times by always-thoughtful-and-knowledgeable, Jeffrey A. Tucker, I got an introduction to both the historical definition of citizenship and how America reinvented it. Originally defined in Rome, citizens were considered free-born. While that sounds like only slaves failed the definition, most people were not considered citizens. You had to be noble or in the family of a noble. Only later were military leaders added to this elite squad. Even freedom didn’t mean the same thing; Citizens were spied on, told how to behave, when and where they could travel and who they could marry. You only had the “right” to be part of defining the collective will.

Absolute monarchies and feudal ownership followed as the concept of a citizen died. Then, as the world recovered from the plague, commercial enterprise began to grow, which led to leaders giving more rights to a wider range of people. Throughout history, rights were considered collective, but in the 17^th and 18^th century, the idea of individual rights found a legal footing. The power of the church and royals faded as freedoms grew. Slavery was the last institution to fall as people realized it failed moral and practical justification.

At this point, the idea of nation-states became firmly entrenched along with the idea of established borders. The purpose was to attempt to control the power that leaders might try to impose on the world beyond their borders.

The New Definition

Citizenship became defined by the nation-state and mostly consisted of agreeing to comply with laws and to pay taxes. For these agreements, citizens could influence the shape of government which meant that power could be limited by that vote.

Citizenship could be given to anyone, but the status of citizen meant that each person granted those rights had to understand the ideals of the country and had to have an investment in the country. This meant a need to know the country’s history, be reasonably literate in the language, a willingness to abide by the country’s laws and an understanding of the values of the country.

The vote became the voice of the citizen and was considered a privilege, as you had some control over who was in office. The age of dictatorship was over (And for those who believe Trump will be that, they have only to look at his first term and ignore the media. The lies during this campaign were epic.)

Tucker provided a quote by Aristotle that helps to explain the importance of the concept of citizenship. “He who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration of any state is said by us to be a citizen of that state.” Borders and citizenship status matter. These controls help to keep states from seizing too much power.

Tucker also notes that there is no such thing as a global citizen, from which is also follows that not everyone can be made a citizen of a state by fiat. Only those who comply with the terms of citizenship should be allowed to be a citizen. This helps to explain the contention over the meaning of the 14^th Amendment, which was actually enacted to grant all former slaves citizenship, as a small act to rectify the wrongs they suffered. It was never meant to be an attraction to pregnant aliens to come here to reap benefits.

Voting is one of the most consequential rights held by citizens and should never devolve to include those who don’t agree, understand or follow the definition of citizenship as highlighted in the 2^nd paragraph of this section. It is critical that everyone be willing to display proof of citizenship when they vote, be carefully vetted and to demand that voter rolls be kept clean. In fact, it might be a good idea if a. you are required by law to report your move or face a fine, so you can’t vote twice and b. as Social Security knows someone has died almost as fast as grieving relatives, they should provide election boards with the names so they can be automatically stripped.

The Role of Open Borders

It wasn’t an accident or a failure of the power that Biden had the border wide open. They planned to ensure a virtual lock on the Presidency (and perhaps Congress) by bringing in grateful illegals to vote. Manipulating voter outcomes isn’t a new problem; I grew up near Chicago where you couldn’t trust any election; the Machine was too strong. But people coming here without following our laws for legal immigration do not fit the bill as citizens. They are rarely fluent in our language, insist on keeping their customs and values, have no understanding of our ideals and have NO investment in our country. While some may just be here to work, they are a different breed from those a few generations back, where the man of the house came here to do farm work and then went home. The people coming now expect and demand food, shelter, health care, transportation and more and seem unwilling to do the slightest bit to be a real part of the working community. They don’t learn English. They take and take and take, making it impossible for actual citizens to get the help they may need. Look at FEMA stealing money from real disaster victims and giving it to support illegals. How many people in North Carolina will die this year, unhoused and with their hard-earned stake in this country destroyed by the storm?

I have to hope that part of the reason Trump was elected was to defy this power grab on the Left. None of the illegals deserve citizenship and should be shoved to the back of the line after all those who apply legally. Don’t get me wrong – we can use legal immigrants all the time, as long as they are willing to adopt our values, prove they understand the ideals of our country and expect to work for a living. Only then, should they be able to apply for citizenship. I’ve known quite a few legal immigrants and they have all provided great value to America, while valuing our ideals. But let’s cut off the funding to illegals and make them go home.