Infinite MonkeysThe new citizen ceremony is one of the finest, most moving traditions of the Independence Day holiday. Today, about 18,000 newcomers will take their citizenship oaths at 150 ceremonies across the nation. About 75 immigrants last night took the oath aboard the U.S.S. Hornet in Alameda. "Our lifestyles are American. This is where we belong. We are Americans," said Ritu Lodha, who came to the United States from India and took the oath with her husband. Millions of people all over the world, it seems, are "born American, but in the wrong place.
Ronald Reagan in 1984 spoke to the nation on Indepedence Day. His words resonate 22 years later:
America still has so much to celebrate on this day -- unity and affection, prosperity and freedom. Today ... there will be fireworks to commemorate that moment when Francis Scott Key saw through the glare of the rockets that our flag was still there. Somewhere a chorus will sing the old songs of love and affection for our country. Somewhere a family will gather and salute the flag. Somewhere a veteran will be told, 'Thanks for what you did.' And in a courthouse somewhere, some of the newest Americans, the most recent immigrants to our country, will take the oath of citizenship.Posted by H.L. Monkey at July 4, 2006 09:25 AMMaybe today, someone will put his hand on the shoulder of one of those new citizens and say, 'Welcome,' and not just as a courtesy, but to say welcome to a great land, a place of unlimited possibilities. Welcome to the American family.