I am an American. Or am I?
The recent Right Wing movement to revoke the natural-born clause of the 14th Amendment led me to think about my own heritage... and citizenship.
The recent Right Wing movement to revoke the clause of the 14th Amendment led me to think about my own heritage... and citizenship. If the 14th Amendment were to be removed, or the natural born clause amended then I would have to say...
"I am an American. Or am I?"
I know that I am an American because I was born in America and because I have a Social Security card, a U.S. Passport -- and, more importantly, because my parents were Americans.
Or were they?
Well, my parents were Americans at the time of my birth because they were born in America and their parents were Americans.
Or were they?
My two sets of of grandparents were all American because their parents were Americans.
Or were they?
Well, out of my eight great-grandparents, 1 great-was a naturalized citizen. And since I have a copy of those citizenship papers, I KNOW That he was an American. Assuming those papers are real. How do I know? I never met the guy. He could have been a scam artist. At any rate, making an assumption that the papers are real, I will say that he was an American. An immigrant, yes, but officially an American.
The other seven great-grandparents were American because they were all born in America and that their parents were American.
Or were they?
Looking now at 16 great-great grandparents... Two were Prussian (a country that doesn't even exist anymore) and never made it to America. However, it was their son who immigrated to America and became a naturalized citizen.) Out of the remaining 14 I can say that they were American...
Or were they?
Some were born in the Confederate States of America. So... I guess that was a different country, right? Do I need to hire a lawyer? Are all descendants of "Americans" born in the South during the Civil War Americans?
And what about just about every African-American in the U.S. for whom the 14th Amendment grants citizenship?
And, then, if you move on to establish their parental citizenship status things get murky and is where the real problems begin.
Even with that Confederacy issue aside... Looking now at the citizenship status of 32 great-great-great grandparents is tricky. There are holes in names, birth dates, birth places and naturalization status. According to a Genealogy Project I did in the 5th grade, a few of them came from England, Germany, and Holland. I have no idea if they had to take a citizenship test in the early 1800s. I don't have papers. For some, I don't have names. I think at least one came over under murky circumstances. Was he a felon? What was he hiding?
Am I going to have to hire the Mormon church to do some Genealogy research before I even get around to hiring a lawyer to prove my citizenship? Because, you know, they're kind of regarded as the masters of genealogy. One question I have is if basically all 300 millions "Americans" have to do the same, won't this amount to largest redistribution of wealth to the Mormon church in history? Are they behind this? Is Romney leading this effort? And if the public needs this information can it all be taken way from the Mormon church via eminent domain?
Did previous "Amnesty" programs, such as the one during the Reagan administration, grant my increasingly suspiciously un-American ass citizenship?
And, if I drive to Arizona, do I have to carry not only my certificate of birth, but a copy of my family tree with me at all times in case I come to a California stop in front of a cop with a quota?
Getting back to the search for citizenship proof... Don't even ask me to come up with the citizenship status of the previous generation -- the 64 great-great-great-great grandparents. Now, some family lines can be traced back to long ago times: old Bartholomew came over from England to Virginia as an indentured servant in 1684. Another ancestor came to New Amsterdam back in the 1600s when a bead or two could pay for a really, really nice-sized brownstone on the East side. Another ancestor was killed as a witch in Salem by right-wing religious blowhards who were motivated by fear and hatred and prejudice.
As for my wife, I have no clue. She likes to say that she can trace back to Roger Williams of Rhode Island fame, although neither one of us have ever been to Rhode Island. She even says something about the Hapsburgs, but I haven't seen it in writing. But what about her 64 great-great-great-great grandparents? Can she prove the U.S. citizenship status of ever single one? And if she can't... what will happen to our child, should we have one? Will he or she even be a citizen? If not, will we all just be deported to Prussia? Or the Holy Roman Empire?
If I have a witch in my genes, then maybe I still have some power.
I curse the Republicans for bringing up this issue of repealing the 14th Amendment based on their own fears and prejudices. Curse them! May they be the ones, this time, to finally burn.