Bohne wrote:Only recently, Germany started allowing dual citizenship.
Before everybody had to decide on ONE citizenship once they turned 18.
All previously American-Germans that I know decided on being American for SOLELY ONE REASON:
It got them out of doing their tour in the German Army.
Great reason, right?
My son has dual citizenship at the moment, and if he feels like it (as far as the German law is concerned) he will be able to keep both, if he decides to do so.
Whatever he decides, I hope that he realizes, what a COUNTY actually is.
It is a speck of land with people living on it.
There are nice people, there are stupid people, there are criminals, there are your family and friends and there are lots of people you will never know.
I hope he will love his family and friends and tell everybody that tells him DYING for HIS COUNTRY is a good thing, to go to hell!
I am all with Montana on this one!
It's probably not politically correct to point out the following, but I believe another reason for people historically maintaining citizenship in one country was because they wanted to believe that, far off into the future, their descendants would be of the same ethnic mix as their country represented (most countries are really a mix of ancient peoples). That really won't apply to Americans, since with time all the different ethnic groups in America will mix to develop some future "new" American. And, I'd guess that will be true too in Germany, in the future, since Europeans are moving around in the EU.
Anyway, being an American is not like being a European, I believe. There are some subtle belief systems that Americans believe in, or aspire to, that I'm not so sure that Europeans subscribe to. One that comes to mind, is in America one can literally reinvent oneself. I believe, in Europe one is still carrying the identity of one's ancestors. And, naturally, that can be a plus or minus.
Anyway, it's my belief, based on my own observations, that the immigrant generation that comes to America really doesn't assimilate in their minds totally. I believe, it takes growing up in America, and attending kindergarten and grade school here, to truly subscribe to the nuanced feelings of being an American. It's that process that allows for the "melting pot" to work. I don't think that's happening in Europe with all immigrants there. Look at Barak Obama with African grandparents. He's American and his African grandparents do not detract from his American identity in the eyes of other Americans. Would that be so in Europe? I believe only America (perhaps there are other countries, but I'm unaware of any) has this melting pot paradigm that successfully assimilates the generation that is born in America.
