I am currently at my public library and I feel empowered here. I am surrounded by the books that will help me create creditable arguments I need for future debates I envision myself to be in. Debates! I was in a debate class in high school for about a week before I dropped out because the prospects of debating scared me. I picked up a drama class in its place, and to this day I cannot tell you why acting was less terrifying to me compared to debating. Maybe its because of all that research you have to do to have a successful debate. Nevertheless, since my freshmen year of high school, I have been a part of many debates because classes have demanded it of me, and I can say that I am more confident than I was nine years ago.
But this particular blog post will be dedicated to the arguments that I could encounter on the path to see this idea come into fruition. These arguments have come from the article that I posted on this blog. The author, Sarah P. Herlihy, has already done a lot of the work for me, but the one difference between her and me is that she wishes that this particular law is opened to all foreign born U.S. citizens, which poses a lot more questions. Nonetheless, below are the 8 arguments to consider.
Arguments:
1) Fear of Change:
- This was an argument I already knew I was up against. Although Sarah talks about allowing all foreign born naturalized U.S. citizens to be able to run for President, and I am talking about a smaller population, the fear of change still exists. Herlihy says "people fear that passing a constitutional amendment will somehow destabilize the American legal system because any amendment to the constitution opens the door for others push forward Constitutional amendments to advance their own causes" (287). Americans believe that this will be a step away from what the Founding Fathers cemented into our Constitution hundreds of years ago and what they proposed was in the best interest for the American people, so why change it (287)? But why not? We have progressed since the signing of the Constitution. We have become a different country than what the Founding Fathers grew up in. Why not show it? But to keep a realistic mindset, its no easy feat changing the Constitution. Not every change proposed will be voted in favor for. Even this one risks that fate.
2) This proposal does not affect that many people
- This is true, and I didn't think about it until I read this Sarah Herlihy's article. This bill doesn't affect the majority of the public, so why would it concern them? Why even pay attention to it? Because the numbers of adopted children are growing. According to a USAToday article written by Martin Kasindorf, 25,000 adopted children are naturalized every year. Though it's not a huge number, it will continue to grow. More supporting evidence to come.
3) Fear of Foreigners
- This ties into fear of change, but there is a very true fear that foreigners will come in and infiltrate our government. A take over. Though this argument focuses mainly on the people who immigrate over at a much older age and are raised in another country, it still applies. Though I don't view myself as a foreigner some might because of the color of my skin and the place I was born in, but I was still raised in the U.S. by American parents, which makes me as American as my neighbor. Though this is a growing issue because of unfortunate occurrences like 9/11. Yet, there have been a fair share of of domestic terrorists that were U.S. born as well, so I think it's safe to say it's unfair to peg foreign born people as the only people to be afraid of. (Though this blog has no intention of making you look behind you in fear. Just to make you think outside the box.)
4) Loyalty
- This is another argument that may or may not apply to my proposal. There are people that believe that if you are born and raised in another country and than move to the U.S. that your loyalty will always be with the country you grew up with. It depends from case to case, but in the case of this blog, I am talking about people who were raised in this country, but happened to be born in another one. Some might argue that because these people were born in another country that they might have emotional ties to it. Once again, it's case by case. But what's not to say that a Italian-American, born and raised in America, does not have a certain loyalty to the country that their ancestors immigrating from? It's objective.
5) Failing to understand what it means to be a natural born citizen
- There are people out there that don't know the difference between a naturalized citizen and a natural born citizen. They don't realize that naturalized citizens are in fact American citizens. These naturalized citizens have gone through the strict requirements needed to become a U.S. citizen. A test that natural born citizens do not have to take (293). In this particular case, adopted children do not have to go through those strict requirements, so they are one step closer to being natural born citizens.
6) Racism and Religious Intolerance
- Well, need I say that we just elected our first black president. I hope that is an indicator that we are becoming more tolerant. A latina woman has also been placed in a very important position of Supreme Court justice. We are becoming more and more progressive. So let's keep it that way.
7) The signal this amendment would send to the rest of the world
- Well I would hope that it shows the world that we are progressive and forward thinkers, but there are people who would think changing this amendment "would signal to the rest of the world that American is willing to be one country of many and that Americans are interested in becoming part of a global world culture...that Americans no longer feel the need to be the leading country in the world but are content in being on equal footing with every other country. (295)" They don't want their enemies to believe that we are opening our doors and becoming more lenient. It may be seen as a sign of weakness. You can form your own opinion on this. I can see both sides.
8) The President as a symbol of America
- Basically, Americans wish to be led by someone who is born and bred in America. It would be un-American to let anyone else fill that role, even if that person was raised from baby to adult as an American. Like the American flag, the president needs to be pure and true to American ideals. But let's step back and look at our past presidents.
We have had many amazing presidents, but there have been the few that have lied, cheated and made poor decisions for our country. Ones that were born and raised in the most American towns and cities in this country, but still have managed to tarnish our global and local reputation. Consider that when you think that America needs to be led by a natural born citizen. Not all U.S. born citizens have all the ideals and values that we hold near and dear to our hearts.
So there you have it. Some of the opposing arguments that will be a part of this project. It's overwhelming. Next time I will write about the arguments that are for this idea! I need some positive reinforcement and I can say with confidence that we are not alone. There are people that will support this!
Thanks for reading! More to come...
p.s. I will try to not let the posts be spaced out by weeks again. This past month has just been hectic, but I am excited to get back to this project and make some progress!
Adoption is growing!
(haha I didn't have a catchy tag line this week)
