“Fox News anchored in stupidity on 14th Amendment”
Over the course of the summer I’ve been reading columns by Ann Coulter. More often than not, her columns will be about frustration she has towards certain political occurrences in the news that conflict with her own. She is a very opinionated, far-right-leaning conservative who I would describe as closed-minded. One of her columns that I think captivates her writing style is titled “Fox News anchored in stupidity on 14th Amendment”.
Coulter began the column by being sarcastic, pretending to agree with her opposing side by calling Trump names like “buffoon” and “a clown”, for she believes other republicans want to drive him from the race because of his views on immigration. She then starts to criticize Bill O’Reilly and the Fox news channel for using the 14th Amendment to justify why children of illegal immigrants are granted citizenship (if born on American soil). However, the 14th Amendment does not specifically apply to children of illegal immigrants, but our government grants citizenship to them anyway. Coulter thinks this is unfair and “wrong” because she believes it is not inline with our “traditional values”.
Discussion question: What does it mean to be American? If being born in America doesn’t grant you citizenship, then what does, or what should?
I too read a few of Ann Coulter’s columns this Summer, I agree with your first paragraph describing her and her persona throughout her writing. Personally, I believe being an American is someone who is a legal citizen of the country, not only that but they are devoted to and would be willing to fight for America. I think being born in America makes you an American but there are people who live there who don’t want to be an American or even call themselves an American so I think it’s about your pride and how you feel about the nation. Again, personally, I believe that in order for you to have American citizenship from birth, your parents, or atleast the mother, should have American citizenship as well. While others obtain American citizenship legally through a visa and then a green card, I don’t think they should be categorized with a baby born from people who came here illegally. Which is why I think that being able to grant someone citizenship should depend on their situation.
To be American, in my opinion, is to be a citizen of the country and/or have a certain devotion to the United States. If, under the law, you are considered to be a citizen, I believe that label should apply to you. I also think that, despite the legal status of an individual’s parent, being born in the United States should be enough to receive citizenship since the child will likely be residing in the country anyway. However, if this were to not be the case, I believe that at least one of the child’s parents be required to obtain at least a green card upon the child’s birth.
To be an American is strictly to be a citizen of the United States. I can understand the idea that a devotion to said country is required in order to be considered one of them, but it would be ludicrously naive to state that every American endlessly loves their country and would be willing to perish for it, as it is simply untrue. If being born in America was not a path to citizenship, then there is evidently the naturalization process of obtaining and possessing a green card for at least 3 or 5 years, depending on your individual circumstances. However, I believe that the 14th amendment should stand the way it is, permitting all those who are born in the U.S. to be considered citizens, regardless of the citizenship status of their parents.
I think that to be American means to legally be a citizen of the United States and with that title comes the freedoms that other countries don’t have the luxury of having. Although nationalism is desired and held by lots of Americans, having a burning love for your country isn’t a requirement to be an American. Being an American has always been a safe idea to people from other countries, knowing that if they come give birth here and give their child the privilege of being an American citizen that they will grow up with more freedoms and opportunities than their parents could have dreamed of for them. Although that is a great thing, parents shouldn’t be able to illegally come here and have the reprocution be that their child gets an American life. I think that at least one parent should need to have a green card in order for their child to be considered an American citizen.
Being born in the United States should constitute you as an American. While dedication to your country is not needed, why would you live here to begin with if you won’t support your home ground? Being born in a particular country shouldn’t be something you’re ashamed of and you should help support the land you live on for as long as you live there. We can’t enforce support for a country by all people, but it should be common sense to fight for your country. Your country is a nation and a community that treats you as you treat it.
To me, being an American should be determined by your belief about it. Do you believe yourself to be an American citizen? Are you proud of this country, do you regard it as your own? While they’re many people who don’t believe that immigrants, especially illegal ones, have any place in America, you can’t deny that they often work jobs that produce essential goods and/or are essential to the American economy. How can people who contribute so greatly to America not be considered American?
To be American means to be born in the United States, or to be a legal citizen of the United States, and to see yourself as an American. If you have citizenship in the United States and another country, but don’t see yourself as an American, and you were not born in the United States, then you should not be considered American. You shouldn’t need to be born in the U.S. to be considered American. If you are not a legal citizen, you shouldn’t be considered American. While I would like to say that people who live in the United States illegally and work hard should be considered American, the reality is that they were born in another nation and are not living in the country legally. If being born in America doesn’t grant you citizenship, then having at least one parent who is a legal citizen should grant you citizenship.