Now, very rarely do I ever dip onto the subject of Politics, and per the norm, this post isn’t so much about Politics as it is about Citizenship. Good citizenship and what it means as an American Citizen.
Some 28 years ago I became an American Citizen. My and family had moved here to the states during December of 1975 on a sponsorship from my Aunt and Uncle. My father who was a respected Math teacher in Korea took a job pumping gas and learning to fix cars before he got a job with General Motors packing auto parts for distribution. My mother worked processing film.
My brother went to school in Detroit and was held back a year until he could learn English and then skipped forward two as he adjusted to schools here. He still occasionally tells the story of his first day in class where, as per Korean custom, he had stood up when his name was called and how he was laughed at and humiliated because, well, that just wasn’t what kids were supposed to do when called on in school. Me, I grew up with too much time to myself and would typically get myself into trouble. Some things don’t really change.
But I do have memories of being 6-7 and helping my mother study for her American Citizenship exam. Quizzing her on historical dates, the presidents, the constitution, and a whole new history and identity that would become part of our family and imbued into the fabric of our integrity and our family’s history going forward. We really believed hard, desperately in the meritocratic opportunities in America. That with hard work you could find success. That you could do anything. You could be different and you could still belong.
It seemed sudden when the day came.
Mom and Dad woke us up early. Insisted on dressing us in “Better than Every Sunday” kind of dress, and taking us on a long car ride where my brother and I were likely wrestling with each other or kicking at each other from opposite sides of the back seat of the Caprice Classic.
We arrived at the nondescript government office and my brother and I sat and waited for hours on end while Mom and Dad went in for their interviews and exams.
I had my photo taken. And then my dad wrote my name for me on a citizenship declaration document.
And we were done.
And the following Monday at school I took the Pledge of Allegiance and wondered if it meant something more now that I was actually a citizen. I decided that it did. And I felt just little bit more normal for once. And proud to be an American.
Flashforward to the present.
Can I say how amazing it is that my good friend Nicole Lee is embarking on this great trek in her life?
Awesome I say.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Our president, not so awesome.
And what a slap in the face to those who are trying so hard to be proud to be American.