Citizenship Ceremony

This week, I was lucky enough to witness a US naturalization ceremony. I worried that the ceremony would fall prey to our basest, most jingoistic, tendencies and become yet another opportunity for breathless patriotism. 

In the end, this wasn’t the case. There was some patriotism, as one might expect for the occasion: a lovely version of the national anthem, an appropriately positive message from the President, and the saying of the oath of citizenship. The presiding judge communicated a sense of joy for the occasion and celebrated the diversity of the group and their potential to contribute to their communities.

In short, it was nice. More than that, it felt authentic. Even the somewhat lackadaisical reciting of the pledge of allegiance (which felt particularly empty at a ceremony where people will be asked to recite the oath of citizenship) felt appropriately sincere (in its ambivalence).

I’m sure someone less invested in the moment (my wife was becoming a US citizen) might  see the ceremony in a more cynical way or observe how the trappings of nationalism seem somewhat obsolete (or even pernicious) in a world faced with genuinely global challenges. That said, despite the overheated rhetoric favored by the political classes, this ceremony was really … (wait for it)… pleasant and joyful.

It’s hard to believe such things are possible in our day-in-age, but apparently there is hope.