To America

The Fourth of July has come and gone for 2009, but it is a day that will be long remembered by thousands of new Americans who were sworn in as citizens during special holiday ceremonies.

Sheila Faire was visiting the old courthouse, a landmark in downtown St. Louis, on the Fourth of July and watched the moving ceremony for 77 new citizens of our nation. She posted a great photo on semissourian.com and added these comments:

"I will never forget what I saw and heard ... . It was the most inspiring, patriotic event that could ever be witnessed on such a day. The room was filled with optimism and pride in the USA. The spontaneous cheers from us, the observers, as the final words of the oath of allegiance were said, was so overwhelming that each of the 77 had to look all around the building to see where it was all coming from. You could tell from the gratitude and wonder on their faces that they and the officials administering the oath were overwhelmed by the goodwill that filled the hall. I am truly proud to be an American."

What a wonderful way to celebrate our nation's birthday.

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I am reminded of friends in Blue Springs, Mo., who adopted a South Korean baby in the 1980s. I'm not sure of the ins and outs of becoming a naturalized citizen, but Sue Kim -- Sookie to her older brother -- became a citizen at a Fourth of July ceremony when she was about 5 years old.

When asked what she liked best about the ceremony, Sue Kim had a quick response: "The flags! I love the flags!"

Her parents said Sue Kim constantly reminded them of respect for the U.S. flag. Every time Sue Kim would see a U.S. flag on a TV show, she would jump to her feet and put her right hand over her heart. "Up! Up!" she would shout to anyone else in sight.

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Natural-born Americans don't have to pass a citizenship test. I suppose our history and civics classes in school are supposed to turn us into informed citizens. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the lessons we're exposed to always stick.

I wonder how much better off our country would be if we all had to pass a test.

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Watching the televised celebrations from our nation's capital, the New York harbor and the Boston Esplanade on the big fireworks night was, as usual, inspirational.

But I was disappointed -- again -- by the number of prominent elected officials who are shown standing during the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" with their hands in their pockets. Only a few have their hands appropriately placed over their hearts.

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My stepfather was a naturalized citizen. He came from a small Italian-speaking town -- Arco -- in the Trentino-Alto Adige-Sudtirol area of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that was annexed by Italy after World War I. In 1914 he landed at Ellis Island, joined cousins working in Pennsylvania coal mines, moved to Detroit, served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific during World War II and retired as a city bus driver before buying a farm on Killough Valley in the Ozarks over yonder and marrying my mother.

To him, voting was a citizen's duty and obligation, not an option. He tried to be an informed voter. And he accosted neighbors on Election Day, telling them that not going to Shady Nook School, the nearest polling place, to cast their ballots was about the worst thing he could think of. One year the polling place ran out of ballots because of my stepfather. He considered it one of his crowning achievements.

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We can all be better Americans. We certainly have plenty of role models -- who choose to come to America and work hard to become citizens worthy of all this nation offers.

jsullivan@semissourian.com;