Citizen of the World

My dictionary (dictionary.com) defines the word citizen as follows:

"a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien )."

Webster defines it as follows:

"a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it"

I have heard our president speak of being a "citizen of the world". Like many of you it bothered me on some gut level when he said it, but I could not put my finger on why. It bothered me , but not enough so that I did any research. At the time I did not sense the broader picture of where we might be headed with such attitude.

As I was driving to work today, I heard a story on the radio about Italy turning away boat people from Libya. It seems they have adopted a new policy that says if they do not reach shore they will be towed back to Libya. This is not unlike our policy on boat people approaching our shores. The commentator was saying that this was unjust, because as "citizens of the world" they were entitled to unrestricted immigration! I was taken aback by this statement, and wonder if this was part of the new political correctness of the 21st century. If it is I am about to be politically incorrect yet again!

I do not feel like a citizen of the world. I am a really good citizen with my neighbors, I think I am a good citizen in my city and state. I hope I am a good US citizen, but beyond that - - no thanks.

Looks like to me being a citizen of the world is cover for complete open immigration with no responsibility of allegiance to anything. I am a big tent kind of guy, and I favor a fairly liberal immigration policy for our country. I believe all that want to come here and become Americans are welcome. I define an American as someone who has allegiance to this country, learns to speak it's language, and is willing to invest in it through hard work and taxes. You have to be willing to be part of the mix that is America, and not a subculture who happens to reside on the same Continent. We pledge allegiance to the flag for a reason. If you can not do so in good conscience, then you should be a citizen in another country. If they will have you that is.

We the citizenry have a right and an obligation to defend our borders and our way of life. There are always those that want to blur the lines on what is right. Our citizenship in this country is our greatest treasure. Let us not blur it into something that no longer has value. If being a citizen of the world is any real value, why is so much of the world trying to get here?

I think we should be good neighbors to the world. We always help when other are in trouble, as good neighbors should. We should keep our "neighborhood" tidy and not make trouble. We should be friends and coexist, but that is about as far as it goes in my book.

Me a citizen of thew world - - -not so much. How about you?