Reading the aforementioned book, "Just Like Us" by Helen Thorpe, has inspired me to do a little more evaluation of what it means to be a US citizen.
Background about myself: I was not a US Citizen at birth. Born in an obscure city block of Shanghai, China, I was far from it. However, when my parents came to the US on a student visa, I came along a couple years later. A few green card applications and naturalization processes that my parents went through (I did nothing) later and before I knew it, I had gained US citizenship. I've always taken my US citizenship for granted. It's one of those things you don't think about unless it gets taken away from you, like a driver's license, I suppose, or a family member (very severe knock of wood). Hopefully (and I don't see how) I'll never have my US citizenship taken away, for I have seen what it's like NOT to be a US citizen.
Now, a few of my fellow law students and other acquaintance are not US citizens; some are permanent residents and some have green card status; the LLM's at my school are here on a student visa. These people have it more difficult than me, for sure, especially applying for jobs, filing taxes, applying for FAFSA loans, etc. But it's really nothing comapred to the difficulties faced by ILLEGAL immigrants, the ones profiled in the book Just Like Us, that I mentioned. In it, Helen Thorpe profiles 4 Hispanic American teenagers living in America (Denver), 2 of whom are legal aliens, and 2 of whom are illegal aliens. And boy life is hard for the illegal aliens, through no fault of their own. They were brought into the country by their parents, much like I was, at a young age, with no say as to what their status was and whether they were legal or not, and later on in life they suffer for it, whether it's not being able to get a driver's license, applying for jobs, even such things so mundane as getting a library card. It's a tough life. But the most depressing and heartbreaking part is not being able to apply for college loans + scholarship (they can apply for college itself by applying as an international student, which is still more difficult but not impossible like college loans). These "illegals" are already usually from disadvantaged households that are lower working class or even impoverished, and now they're being asked to finance their own higher education in a world that increasingly asks for advanced degrees without help from the government, all the while trying to help their families in whatever way they can with rent.
It makes me wonder, how would I feel if I had to do all those things? And what have I done to deserve to be a US citizen? Sure, I pledged allegiance to the flag all throughout early schooling years, I stand up to honor the national anthem during live sports events, I pay taxes on my income (so far, that's been a VERY negligible amount given my salary), but other than that I make no real demonstrable net positive effect on US society as a whole. I guess I'm nice to people....does that count? I haven't even voted in any elections and not served on a jury....... haven't done my civic duty. So what, really, have I done? I could easily be an illegal alien as well, still be nice to people, still stand up for the national anthem, but not be able to enjoy the benefits of US citizenship: social security, driver's license, applying for jobs, etc.
Being a US citizen, for me, means honoring the values of the country: abiding by the laws, supporting other US citizens, continuing the traditions of the country that I live in. I shouldn't curse aspects of the country that I live in just because I disagree them; I should do as much as I can to educate myself on what policies the nation is implementing to try to better itself.
I also really want to look into this issue of illegal immigration; I understand there are strong arguments on either side as to how to treat illegal immigrants, ranging depending on ideological viewpoints from deporting all illegal immigrants and sealing up our borders to allowing all illegal immigrants total amnesty and a "let-it-ride approach." The problem is somewhere in between. But one point that does stay with me is how difficult it is as a young person growing up as an illegal immigrant, not understanding why other students are allowed the privilege of going to college with scholarships while you are not when you haven't done anything wrong. I used to complain all the time about affirmative action and how I didn't get into the college I wanted because other lesser-qualified candidates were selected over me; my concerns seem trivial now compared to prospective students who simply CANNOT go because of something their parents did, being punished for something they didnt' do. How unjustified is that? I feel it is my duty as a US citizen to be more aware of this issue and research ways to help the country get better.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Background about myself: I was not a US Citizen at birth. Born in an obscure city block of Shanghai, China, I was far from it. However, when my parents came to the US on a student visa, I came along a couple years later. A few green card applications and naturalization processes that my parents went through (I did nothing) later and before I knew it, I had gained US citizenship. I've always taken my US citizenship for granted. It's one of those things you don't think about unless it gets taken away from you, like a driver's license, I suppose, or a family member (very severe knock of wood). Hopefully (and I don't see how) I'll never have my US citizenship taken away, for I have seen what it's like NOT to be a US citizen.
Now, a few of my fellow law students and other acquaintance are not US citizens; some are permanent residents and some have green card status; the LLM's at my school are here on a student visa. These people have it more difficult than me, for sure, especially applying for jobs, filing taxes, applying for FAFSA loans, etc. But it's really nothing comapred to the difficulties faced by ILLEGAL immigrants, the ones profiled in the book Just Like Us, that I mentioned. In it, Helen Thorpe profiles 4 Hispanic American teenagers living in America (Denver), 2 of whom are legal aliens, and 2 of whom are illegal aliens. And boy life is hard for the illegal aliens, through no fault of their own. They were brought into the country by their parents, much like I was, at a young age, with no say as to what their status was and whether they were legal or not, and later on in life they suffer for it, whether it's not being able to get a driver's license, applying for jobs, even such things so mundane as getting a library card. It's a tough life. But the most depressing and heartbreaking part is not being able to apply for college loans + scholarship (they can apply for college itself by applying as an international student, which is still more difficult but not impossible like college loans). These "illegals" are already usually from disadvantaged households that are lower working class or even impoverished, and now they're being asked to finance their own higher education in a world that increasingly asks for advanced degrees without help from the government, all the while trying to help their families in whatever way they can with rent.
It makes me wonder, how would I feel if I had to do all those things? And what have I done to deserve to be a US citizen? Sure, I pledged allegiance to the flag all throughout early schooling years, I stand up to honor the national anthem during live sports events, I pay taxes on my income (so far, that's been a VERY negligible amount given my salary), but other than that I make no real demonstrable net positive effect on US society as a whole. I guess I'm nice to people....does that count? I haven't even voted in any elections and not served on a jury....... haven't done my civic duty. So what, really, have I done? I could easily be an illegal alien as well, still be nice to people, still stand up for the national anthem, but not be able to enjoy the benefits of US citizenship: social security, driver's license, applying for jobs, etc.
Being a US citizen, for me, means honoring the values of the country: abiding by the laws, supporting other US citizens, continuing the traditions of the country that I live in. I shouldn't curse aspects of the country that I live in just because I disagree them; I should do as much as I can to educate myself on what policies the nation is implementing to try to better itself.
I also really want to look into this issue of illegal immigration; I understand there are strong arguments on either side as to how to treat illegal immigrants, ranging depending on ideological viewpoints from deporting all illegal immigrants and sealing up our borders to allowing all illegal immigrants total amnesty and a "let-it-ride approach." The problem is somewhere in between. But one point that does stay with me is how difficult it is as a young person growing up as an illegal immigrant, not understanding why other students are allowed the privilege of going to college with scholarships while you are not when you haven't done anything wrong. I used to complain all the time about affirmative action and how I didn't get into the college I wanted because other lesser-qualified candidates were selected over me; my concerns seem trivial now compared to prospective students who simply CANNOT go because of something their parents did, being punished for something they didnt' do. How unjustified is that? I feel it is my duty as a US citizen to be more aware of this issue and research ways to help the country get better.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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