I thank Connie for pointing this out:
The following oath is taken by tens of thousands of immigrants each year. If you were a natural-born citizen you were not required to take this oath, but there are literally millions of people around the world who would--and would do so happily, if given a chance:
The Oath of AllegianceI hereby declare, an 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 the 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 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 or evasion: So help me God.
I'll make that oath, here and now. Gladly, and without reservation.
Will you?
Note the reference to God. Someone call the ACLU ASAP!
I would be interesting to require this as a requirement of graduation from High School. I can get the howls of protest already.
I already did-- January 15, 1985.
PS
I also had to pass a test on the Constitution, know the names of my elected officials and demonstrate an ability to read and comprehend English before I could take the oath! None of which is demanded of native-born Americans, nay is actually illegal. Which prompts me to ask: If we remove the spectre of arbitrary discrimination--such as practiced pre-1964 Civil Rights Act--is it wrong to expect all 18 year olds to pass a high school-level civics class before being allowed to register to vote for the first time?
When I took that oath for the census bureau we were told to skip “so help me God” if our religious convictions forbade us to ask for help from that (those) entity(s). I availed myself of that opportunity; I have never prayed to a god of Oaths!
Anyway, does anyone else find it interesting that everyone in federal service—from the US President to the newest postal worker and DMV counter person, not to mention every new citizen—are required to take the same oath? I love that about my country...
I already did -- in 1959.
In a heartbeat!
Like my Italian grandparents did. And my German ones before them.
Remember the Poppy today!
http://www.brazoscantina.com/archives/000172.html
I certainly would— fifth-generation Wisconsinite though I am. (The Burgesses settled in Wisconsin back in the days when it was the Wisconsin Territory.)
I took a very similar oath in a wood-paneled room in South Carolina, when I enlisted in the Armed Forces at the ripe-old age of 28 (which is more than I have said online regarding my actual identity than I have at my own site). If I remember correctly, though, the Supreme Court decided we couldn't actually hold anyone to that whole "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" thing. I have known several people that claim dual citizenship. I don't hold it against them, as many still have family in the nation of their birth and it often makes travel easier.
Mr. Poet,
Did you ever here about that US serviceman who was court martialed for refusing to wear the powder blue of the UN? Bad times these are.
Took my enlistment oath on January 19, 1990.
I took that oath in 1982. JROTC in High School.
I'd take it now if I could, but I'm gonna have to wait until the INS gets around to processing my application and giving me an interview. (I'll let y'all know when it happens :) )
I'm not sure that a "nation" is an abstraction that a person can honestly pledge allegiance to. It's too big. Then again, I'm an atheist.
I probably wouldn't make that oath. And the fact that I don't *have* to is, I think, a wonderfully American thing.
Well I'm a natural citizen, so I never took that particular oath.
However, unlike a good majority of my socio-economic class, I took a similar oath and served in the U.S. Army for 12 years.
I wouldn't have a problem taking this oath. Well, except the god thing, me being an atheist and all.
Now, can you tell me if our elected and appointed officials can swear with a straight face that they've upheld their particular oath?
Most of them do their best, Dennis, and I say that with a perfectly straight face and not the slightest bit of sarcasm.
No one said our system is perfect. But support for a land that has given us all more tolerance, freedom, and opportunity than 98% of humanity has enjoyed in all of human history is deserving of some loyalty, wouldn't you say?
I did in 1989. I was deliriously proud to do so and am so still.
Your oath is:
A slight to those who would freely give all it asks,
a tool of demogogues,
a conceit of sheep,
a reminder for the solemn patriot.
A) It is not "my" oath.
B) In any case, thank you for referring to me as either a demogogue or a sheep.
C) Thank you for questioning my patriotism. It makes me think much better of you.
It's an insult to all those people who *choose* to stay in the US, then make the second choice to become a citizen, that they are all sheep. Why make such a statement?
I was only pointing out that oaths can be abused and that is partly my fault because I chose the word "your". For any confusion that caused I apologize.
Beyond that you assumed I was personally attacking you.
A solemn partiot is a sincere patriot as a opposed to a sheep who would say it because they blindly do what they are told, are apathetic or too impoverished or ignorant to care.
Those statements do not necessarily apply to any one person or all to any one individual.
I would take that Oath in a heartbeat.
Prouder by far, for me, was not the day I first took that oath, but the day I first administered it. Weird, weird thing about our nation; they’ll let just about anyone do just about anything as long as the paperwork is filled out properly…