As do many of you, I follow Kevin M. Kruse (make sure you put the M. in your search) on Twitter. For those who don’t already know Kevin or his work he wrote One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America. Kevin is also a Tarheel (UNC). Oh, and by the way he teaches History at Princeton. So when Kevin makes a suggestion to read an Op-Ed by someone I’ll usually give it a quick look.
This time it was Martha S. Jones a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. Her piece is called Birthright citizenship is a powerful weapon against racism. That’s why we must protect it. She discusses the 14th Amendment and how there are some out there wanting to undermine if not totally eliminate the 14th Amendment. Among them our current POTUS and possibly his latest appointment to SCOTUS.
She opens with;
I expected to spend this year — the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment — glorying in its achievements.
Instead, I’m defending it from attack.
As much as anyone, I anticipated the arrival of July 9, 2018 — the day that marked 150 years since the 14th Amendment made birthright citizenship part of the Constitution. I’ve just published a book, “Birthright Citizens,” that explains how, for decades before the 14th Amendment’s passage, African American activists promoted themselves as members of the nation by virtue of their birth on U.S. soil.
I had not anticipated, however, that the amendment’s anniversary would coincide with a rising tide of opposition to birthright citizenship. Perhaps I should have seen it coming — I follow the phrase “14th Amendment” on Twitter, where over the past year there have been “calls” variously for its repeal, overturning or recall. I generally dismissed these as outbursts from an uninformed fringe that was naive about what it would really take to change the Constitution or alter the course of its interpretation.
As much as I like to call myself a student of history, there’s way too much I don’t know. And unlike some who like to fake it, I prefer to read and learn from those who spent their lives studying it. Not online reading conspiratorial revisionist bullshit, but serious study in accredited institutions. So when the historians are worried, I’m worried.
We read a lot of hyperbole put out by the RW propaganda machines and we easily dismiss it as such, but some things aren’t so easy to dismiss. Their ugliness permeates deep within the psyche of way too many of our citizenry. And with our current POTUS and his open racism and bigotry giving a nod to the ignorant racist and bigots in our country, we need to heed all the siren calls when they’re given.
While there is a cottage industry of Russian and other Eastern European women coming to the US to give birth, our POTUS and his administration are cracking down on even the tiniest possibility of women of color coming to this country and giving birth. Even though the reason for their coming isn’t related to their pregnancy. The idea that ICE or any administrative judge could deny citizenship to any child born in this country isn’t a road we really want go down. If you can deny citizenship to someone born here for any reason the door is open to denying and revoking ones citizenship for any reason.
I echo her concern and close with Professor Jones’ words;
So birthright has been affirmed, again and again, ensuring that no matter how racist the regime, the Constitution grants citizenship to all people born in the United States. The 14th Amendment transformed our governing text into a document that protects those born in the United States from arbitrary and politically motivated bars to citizenship, including race, religion and party affiliation. The 14th Amendment guarantees that no American will be subject to a test of patriotism, wealth or health. At birth, Americans are incorporated into the body politic and invited to take full part in the governance and the future of our democracy.
It is time to understand the 14th Amendment, and then defend it. Its 150th anniversary gave the nation an opportunity to celebrate the constitutional revolution that followed the Civil War and emancipation. Today, it is time to fully embrace the vision and the force of that revolution in our own lives. It is not a time for nostalgia, self-congratulation, or overconfidence. Instead, the rising calls to repeal birthright citizenship demand that we equip ourselves for the debate that is on the near horizon.