A Reflection On July 4th

Below is the oath every naturalized citizen takes at the time of being granted citizenship.

We immigrants consciously make the decision to adopt this country as our homeland. It takes many sacrifices to do so.

This fourth, ask an immigrant what they left behind to be here and the sacrifices they made. Adopting another country is hard and we are full of gratitude for America having adopted us.

We have faith in our country and countrymen. Despite the current environment, it is a great nation. American people are full of generosity and have open hearts. We must stand together against hate and bigotry.

I hope we continue to value our diversity and morals that have guided this nation to success and enrichment.

We the people!

God Bless America!

Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

[Commentary by Dheeraj Raina: This was Uzma’s Facebook post from her last July 4th. In this post, I have only changed some punctuation and formatting for ease of reading. Otherwise, it is as she wrote it. To read my approach to her unpublished work, read this.]

Photo by Avi Werde on Unsplash