When
was the last time any of us thought about what it
means to be a citizen of the United States of America?
Do you think about it as you vote? Or register to
vote? Or sing the Star spangled Banner? Or hear about
violations of civil rights?
Well,
I recommend to each and every one of you to attend
just one swearing-in ceremony of the newest citizens,
and you will swell with pride.
Sharon
Wilkinson will be attending these ceremonies on a
monthly basis and will be representing the League
of Women Voters. In March, she and I attended together,
and both of us were delighted and very moved by the
experience. The honorable Judge Rice presided, and
pronounce it one of the happiest and most pleasurable
jobs that he is privileged to perform in his capacity
as a federal judge.
Judge
Rice spoke to the families and friends, but mostly
to the prospective citizens about the importance
of voting, as he lamented the low percentage of citizens
who exercise that right and privilege. He spoke of
the need to defend this county in time of war, but
emphasized that women have never been drafted, and
men are not being drafted now. He spoke of our freedoms,
and the forefathers who sacrificed so much to make
it happen. The Honorable Judge Merz also addressed
the group as did a local attorney, who traced the
beginnings of his family’s trek to the new
world to start generations of grateful citizens;
and told them that they were the new wave of the
start of generations of grateful citizens. And then
Judge Rice administered the oath of American Citizenship.
If you know it, it will be a good review. If you
do not know it, you will be awed at the content of
it: |
