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What's so special about being a CITIZEN of the US???

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  • #1

    What's so special about being a CITIZEN of the US???

    It seems, at least in my mind, that citizenship is an important piece of the immigration discussion.

    Do we as a people really understand the benefits we have by being citizens of this country?
    It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years and we must stop it.
    Bill Clinton 1995, State of the Union Address

    "When they go low - we go High" great motto - too bad it was a sack of bullshit. DNC election mantra
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  • #2
    Originally posted by baldgriff View Post
    It seems, at least in my mind, that citizenship is an important piece of the immigration discussion.

    Do we as a people really understand the benefits we have by being citizens of this country?
    I don't know if this is a rhetorical question or not, but I'll offer an answer.

    The people I talk with the most seem to appreciate the benefits we have, both tangible and intangible. There are a lot of them. We have the right to vote. We can travel freely as U.S. citizens around the world based upon our U.S. passports. We can run for public office and participate in that aspect of helping governing ourselves. We can qualify for the entitlement programs which have been established throughout the decades for the poor, sick, elderly, retired, etc. A person can lose some of these rights, for example if convicted of certain crimes, but it is hard to lose U.S. citizenship once you have it.

    Perhaps more important are the intangibles, the feelings of pride and honor which come with being a citizen of the U.S. I know we have take our lumps from time to time. And there are a ton of things that need work. But I believe our country is bigger than whatever problems we happen to be facing at any particular point in time.
    If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. - Karl Popper

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    • #3
      Originally posted by baldgriff View Post
      It seems, at least in my mind, that citizenship is an important piece of the immigration discussion.

      Do we as a people really understand the benefits we have by being citizens of this country?
      Taking for granted and being grateful are two different things.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by baldgriff View Post
        It seems, at least in my mind, that citizenship is an important piece of the immigration discussion.

        Do we as a people really understand the benefits we have by being citizens of this country?
        I think there are a lot of people in the US that don't understand. When you see pictures of immigrants on the day they get citizenship they are so happy so I think they understand what they just received. But I think lots of Americans have benefits like Redbirds Fan listed that we take for granted and either don't realize or don't think about how many people in the world don't have these rights.

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        • #5
          rule of law
          "You know what's wrong with America? If I lovingly tongue a woman's nipple in a movie, it gets an "NC-17" rating, if I chop it off with a machete, it's an "R". That's what's wrong with America, man...."--Dennis Hopper

          "One should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real." -- Klaus Kinski

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          • #6
            just a comment - it seems you guys are comparing yourselves to a country that's been based on Lord of the Flies ... there are more than a few dozen countries that have all of these things as well ...

            I actually took the original question to mean what does citizenship provide that non-citizens don't have access to.
            It certainly feels that way. But I'm distrustful of that feeling and am curious about evidence.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by TranaGreg View Post
              just a comment - it seems you guys are comparing yourselves to a country that's been based on Lord of the Flies ... there are more than a few dozen countries that have all of these things as well ...

              I actually took the original question to mean what does citizenship provide that non-citizens don't have access to.
              Right, and that is what I was trying to answer. The things I mentioned are specific to American citizenship...not available to people living here who are not citizens. (That is not to say people living in Paris who are citizens of France don't have some of the same benefits there.)

              And, hopefully, hugely important things like the rule of law are available to all who live here, no offense intended to FB.
              If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. - Karl Popper

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Redbirds Fan View Post
                And, hopefully, hugely important things like the rule of law are available to all who live here, no offense intended to FB.
                supposed to be, but isn't, for example, how many undocumented workers get cheated out of overtime would you guess. I'd say 90%+
                "You know what's wrong with America? If I lovingly tongue a woman's nipple in a movie, it gets an "NC-17" rating, if I chop it off with a machete, it's an "R". That's what's wrong with America, man...."--Dennis Hopper

                "One should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real." -- Klaus Kinski

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                • #9
                  Probably. In my experience, a large number of documented workers get screwed out of it as well. Stolen labor is a huge story that people don't talk about very much. Businesses don't admit it, and employees don't want to lose their jobs due to complaining about it.
                  If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. - Karl Popper

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                  • #10
                    As already said, being a citizen of the US isn't that different than being the citizen of a few dozen countries. Maybe if we ever figure that out, we'd treat those outside the US better.
                    Considering his only baseball post in the past year was bringing up a 3 year old thread to taunt Hornsby and he's never contributed a dime to our hatpass, perhaps?

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