Idahoans should reflect on the obligations of citizenship | Opinion

What does the immigration issue say about us?

While we may have different opinions about immigration enforcement actions occurring in major cities across the country, I believe that few would argue with the position that immigration laws and borders are important to the integrity, order and safety of our country.

Lawful immigration should mean several basic things to us. To start, we believe that immigrants should come to America legally. Once here, they should continue to obey the laws. They should contribute to the betterment of society. And if they remain, they should probably consider seeking citizenship at some point.

We think these things because, for one, we believe our nation is special. We may believe that its founding was inspired by a higher power. We love the freedoms that are protected by the Constitution. And so, we may believe that those who come here, or are here, should live up to its high ideals by their high actions.

But what does that say about us? Or even more introspectively, what does that say about me?

If I am expecting immigrants to act a certain way in America, what does being an American ask of me? On a basic level, I should probably at least live up to the expectations I would have of an immigrant. I should obey the laws. I should contribute to the betterment of society.

In asking this question, I considered some of the naturalization test questions. These led me to think that being an American also means that I should also have a good knowledge of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I should understand the importance of the “rule of law.” I should know how constitutional checks and balances are supposed to work, and how federalism is supposed to work. What do the branches of government do? What do the constitutional amendments say? What was the important history of the Revolutionary War period or the Civil War period? Or what did James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. or Susan B. Anthony do?

In addition to rights or knowledge, what are my responsibilities? Obviously, I have to serve on a jury when called upon, serve my nation if drafted, and to vote. But what else? What promises are embedded in the naturalization oath of allegiance to the United States? Of course, a renunciation of allegiance to any other country or leader, but also to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States,” “bear true faith and allegiance to the same,” and “bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law.”

But these things, it seems to me, are only the fundamentals. Citizenship calls us to a higher plane. It asks of us so much more. We should be good parents, children, siblings, so that our families are strong, supported and loved. We must be good members of society; not just coming and going to and from work and play, but paying attention to community, state and national issues, volunteering in local organizations that seek to improve society, knowing and serving our neighbors, making this world a better place than we found it. Contributing time, resources, money, effort, blood, sweat and tears to making not only our lives better, but the lives of those all around us. We cannot be selfish, thoughtless jerks if we want to live up to the high expectations of American citizenship.

I was privileged enough to be born here. But does that mean I can seriously sit on my laurels and not live up to that privilege?

This Independence Day, I hope that issues like immigration cause us to do more than to think of what others should do. At the very least, they should act as a mirror to cause us to reflect on what our American citizenship really means, and what it asks of us.