Kamala Trump
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http://www.americandaily.com/article/9768
Parallel Paths – United States Citizenship and Ancient Roman Citizenship
By Mike Tate (07/02/05)
Facilitating the process for illegal aliens (invaders who broke U.S. law to gain entry) to gain United States citizenship degrades the value of citizenship for law-abiding citizens and legal immigrants. Possessing and acquiring United States citizenship is still treasured and desirable. But, how much longer can it remain 'treasured and desirable' when Congress continues to press for legislation allowing illegal aliens to gain citizenship? Most recently, The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act has been introduced into the Senate by John McCain [R-Ariz.], Edward M. Kennedy [D-Mass.] and sponsored in the House by Luis V. Gutierrez [D-Ill.], Jeff Flake [R-Ariz.], Jim Kolbe [R-Ariz.] allows illegal aliens to obtain eventual citizenship after six years of working in the United States.
Continuous discussion and legislation proposals pushing an easier route for illegal aliens to obtain citizenship calls into question whether U.S. citizenship can lose prominence. Zbigniew Brzezinski in "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives" writes: Declaring 'Civis Romanus sum', Latin for "I am a Roman citizen", became "the highest possible self-definition, a source of pride, and an aspiration for many" as Ancient Rome reached its height. Third Millennium Ministries states "Roman citizenship was a highly prized possession in the 1st Century" and although "citizenship [originally] could only be obtained through birth", as the Roman Empire expanded "citizenship was issued to those who had accomplished some task for the empire or to those who could purchase [it]". Accompanied with citizenship were the economic and legal rights established in Roman law.
Trajan's Rome, a six-lesson curriculum unit on Ancient Rome, certifies "the possession of Roman citizenship was often as important as the possession of wealth". In 212 A.D., "wealth became the basis of social and legal status" when the Roman emperor Caracalla enacted the Constitutio Antoniniana (extending Roman citizenship to every inhabitant of the empire). However, by this time, "the value of citizenship was greatly eroded" notes the China Institute. Roman citizens were raised to value the virtue and duty of loyalty, courage, and respect for authority. Citizenship in Ancient Rome must have instilled those who possessed with robust pride, a feeling of importance, and the notion of upholding all it meant to be a Roman. Roman-empire.net, a leading web resource on Rome, claims "people holding Roman citizenship sought to keep it as exclusive as possible". A correlation can be made between the glory days of Rome and the exclusiveness of citizenship to the demise of Rome and the inclusiveness of citizenship. As an increasing number of people were granted citizenship in the boundaries of Ancient Rome, being a Roman slowly lost meaning. The powerful engine of patriotism and pride which drove the Rome to success eventually subsided.
United States citizenship is coveted and highly sought. But, when Congress and the President push for legislation allowing for de facto amnesties granting millions of illegal aliens’ citizenship the value of this citizenship is greatly diminished. Illegal aliens receiving services such as free public education, free medical care, in-state college tuition, and possibly driver's licenses or voting rights further debases and dethrone U.S. citizenship. Government efforts to expand citizenship, via periodic amnesties, to law-breaking illegal aliens are tantamount to the gradual expansion of Roman citizenship within the empire. Gerda Bikales, founding director of ProEnglish, affirms “the significance of U.S. citizenship has never been so devalued” due to “decades of unprecedented [illegal] immigration” leaving the United States with “a huge and rapidly growing non-citizen population”. Bikales continues, “advocates [of illegal immigration] call for non-citizen voting, the right of non-citizens to hold any U.S. government job, and for dissociating citizenship from any requirement to demonstrate a knowledge of basic English and U.S. history. The push for the eradication of all differences between citizens and non-citizens has been ongoing for many years”.
Many Americans may not be consciously proud of their United States citizenship. Now is a time when many Americans must be consciously proud and realize Government efforts to dilute the value of U.S. citizenship.
