Today's post, though, is to concentrate on something specific.... the idea that someone that is a nationalized citizen of our country should forfeit all love of his former country. This post is not an illegal immigrant rant. This post is not a rant on races or religions...this is simply some food for thought to chomp on. Here goes....
To help with the understanding, I'm going to paint you a picture: A loving husband and father of two children, that we'll call A and B, is widowed. He remarries a divorced woman who has three children of her own that we will call C,D, and E. Now, A and B still, very much, miss their mother. They miss their mother's family and, although they ADORE their new stepmother and step-siblings, they still feel like they are, in some way, a part of their mother. In some ways, they feel as if they are betraying their mother if they truly fully embrace their stepmother and C,D, and E as their true family. In short, they feel pulled in two different directions. Their stepmother, being a kind woman, comes to understand this and encourages them to embrace their mother's family while still being a part of theirs to the fullest extent. She lets them know that they don't have to choose between the two and while they will adopt new family traditions, experience new family experiences and love each other as family, they can still hold their mother just as firmly in their hearts. They don't have to let go of who they are in order to become who they are meant to be.
You are feeling compassion now, yes? Allow me to explain what I'm comparing here....
A and B are people hoping to become citizens of the United States. They have come here legally and are in the process of jumping through the hoops to become a citizen. They are studying hard for the tests, filling out all of the paperwork, and doing absolutely everything that they can in order to do everything completely right.
The new stepmother is our beautiful country and just like the stepmother in the comparison, our country is kind and generous. Our country is understanding. Our country does not demand that A and B let go of their former country and heritage. Instead our country asks that A and B let us learn more about their traditions so that we can better understand and help them to embrace the old heritage while also learning and celebrating new things. You see, A and B aren't expected to give up everything; they are only given the opportunity to embrace both their past and their present in order to create a beautiful future. They don't have to let go of who they are in order to become who they are meant to be.
C,D, and E are you and I. Yes, there are times that we might feel, as the "biological children" that more attention is being given to A and B. Yes we may strike out occasionally and just feel frustrated. When it comes down to it, though, we forget how lucky we are. We forget that we are blessed to have such a loving, kind and generous mother. We forget that we are not expected to change to fit their mold but they are evolving to fit into their family. Yes, they have to learn to "speak our language" but we could also help them to mesh more easily if we learned a little bit of their language as well.
Contrary to what we seem to put on our up-and-coming citizens (those that are here legally doing everything they can to take care of their families), they do not have to give up their heritage. They don't have to change who they are. They are allowed to keep their heritage. They are encouraged to keep their adapt to our culture, learn new customs and pledge allegiance to our flag but that doesn't mean that they can't still have a love for their past. While they should follow our laws, love our country and be thankful for their freedom, they can also still celebrate their home country's holidays. While they should learn to speak our language, they should still be able to speak their language as well.
So the next time you judge someone who is working their ass off to become a citizen of our beautiful country, take a step back and remember this.
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