Note: I don’t usually write about politics here, and I’m not assuming everyone reading this is a Democrat, or even from the US. What I do assume is that we’ve all felt, at one point or another, that our elected officials need to know how we feel about the way our country is being run. This essay is more about what it actually looks like to participate in democracy as both a French and US citizen, at a moment when our voices are more important than ever.
In this essay:
As you may know, I am both a citizen of France and of the United States.
Some might see dual citizenship as a sort of “double your pleasure, double your fun” Doublemint gum fantasy, imagining all the places in the world you could travel, live and work while possessing both US and European passports. But in practice, dual citizenship means double the rights along with double the legal, political, and financial obligations.
It also means a commitment to defending two democracies, especially when things don’t seem to be going in the right direction. Given the current state of the world, I’ve been attending more political protests and campaign rallies over the past few months than museum expositions and wine tastings.
Democracy by its very nature is a participatory sport, not something responsible citizens watch from the sidelines.
With that gauntlet thrown, what does that look like for American citizens living outside the US right now? And what is it like to be a French citizen in an election year?
PART 1: American Citizenship in Action
Citizenship Doesn’t End at the Border
For me, living abroad doesn’t mean I’m not affected by US politics, laws, or current events. Of course I can see what’s happening on the news.
But I also talk daily to close friends and family members I have in Minneapolis, Arizona, Washington DC, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Texas, California, and New York. I know what they’re going through, and how they’re affected by recent events.
Even though I’m living outside the US, I’m also directly affected by the decisions of the current administration. Over the past two months, I’ve watched as lawmakers in Congress are attempting to pass legislation that could affect two of the most important rights I have as an American: my citizenship, and my right to vote.
For all of these reasons, I don’t want to simply wait to vote in the US midterm elections. I feel that it’s urgent to take action now.
In addition to voting, there are two other easy ways to participate in the democratic process:
- Speaking to our representatives in Congress
- Speaking out publicly through protests or the press
And while it might be a bit more complicated, US citizens can still do these things from France, too.
Contacting My Representatives in Congress to Protect Absentee Voting
Most people are happy to vote for their Congressional representatives once every few years and leave it up to them to craft the laws that affect our lives. But if you want your senator or representative to know how you want them to vote on any given issue, the easiest way is to let them know by calling or writing to them directly.
While France has 11 deputies and 12 senators in Parliament who directly represent their constituents living abroad, in the US we’re represented by the senators and representations of the state and county where we last lived or voted.
My “home” constituency is Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I’ve been a registered voter since 1994. Since moving to France, I’ve voted by mail, making sure to register in time for primaries and send in my absentee ballot.
Voting in person would require buying a flight to Minneapolis, since the US doesn’t provide voting centers at embassies or consulates like the French government does for its citizens abroad.
A few weeks ago the House voted for the SAVE America Act, which is framed as banning voting by non-citizens, something that is already illegal. While cases of illegal voting are infinitesimally small, the number of US citizens who could be unable to vote because of this law is significant, particularly married women whose names don’t match their birth certificates, voters who don’t have driver’s licenses or passports, as well as citizens living abroad who could face new barriers to absentee voting (especially those of us registered to vote in Minnesota).
I don’t currently have a valid US passport. It expired this year and costs $130 to renew (not including the cost of official photos and registered courier shipping). Normally this would be an administrative inconvenience I could put off until my next planned trip to the US since I can travel anywhere else in the world on my French passport. But US citizens are required to use their US passport to enter or leave the United States. At the moment, I’m not eager to purchase both a passport and an airline ticket simply to cast my ballot.
Even though the Senate has already made it clear they will block the SAVE Act, Trump is threatening to bypass Congress with an executive order to push it through before the November midterms.
That means I may have to renew my passport and buy an airline ticket now “just in case”. But not everyone has access to a “Plan B” like I do.
Not That France Does Everything Better, But…For the record, I’m not opposed to voter ID. It seems perfectly logical. But it also seems logical that every citizen receives a free, government-issued photo ID like we do here in France. Not everyone has a driver’s license or passport, but in France, everyone has an ID card. That administrative choice solves the problem without discrimination.
I thought my congressional representative in Minneapolis might be interested in hearing my thoughts about the SAVE Act, so I called her office.
If you’re in France, you don’t even have to pay for a long distance call, because Democrats Abroad France have provided a local French number that forwards your call directly to the US Capitol switchboard in DC for free: 07 55 53 64 46
When I called and spoke to my Senator’s assistant about my concerns regarding the SAVE Act, I made a simple point: if US citizens cannot vote from abroad, we shouldn’t have to pay taxes from abroad either.
The phrase may have been coined 250 years ago, but I think most of still believe in the revolutionary motto, “No taxation without representation!”
Protesting Like a(n Unpaid) Pro to Protect the Democracy
I haven’t been dumping any tea into the Seine, but over the past year I’ve attended several protest marches with my fellow Americans in Paris.
Protests and demonstrations happen almost daily in France. Ninety-nine percent are peaceful, registered in advance with local authorities, and coordinated with local police to redirect traffic and escort marches.
Participating in one is viewed as part of civic life, not outside it. They’re a way for the citizens to express themselves and blow off a little steam until the next elections. Despite the casseurs who still show up at the biggest protests to cause trouble, most marches are attended by people of all ages and backgrounds, even families.
I got a crash course in the French art of le manif’ soon after I first arrived in Paris in the fall of 1995. Massive protests and nationwide strikes paralyzed the city for almost three months: no public transport, no mail, no trash collection, no air traffic controllers. I was studying political science at the University of Paris that year, so I was experiencing the French political system I was learning about in real time!
Over the years, I’ve participated in protest marches and demonstrations in Paris for various causes and grievances (even if – like all Parisians – I also sometimes find them really annoying and disruptive).
So for me it’s only natural that I would attend protests with my US compatriots here in Paris when I want to make sure my voice is heard, even across the Atlantic.
I’ve attended a few “No Kings” demonstrations to remind everyone that the US Declaration of Independence was a list of grievances against a tyrannical king, not a “to do list” for the elected leaders of a democratic nation.
I’ve also attended several protests to share my thoughts on ICE’s immigration enforcement and deportation practices, in solidarity with my friends back in Minneapolis. The most recent one was at the Place de la Bastille on Valentine’s Day, an angry-but-peaceful demonstration, with singing and a vigil for those killed by federal agents. The small crowd was mostly made up of Americans and a few curious passers-by who stopped to listen.
In late January, I decided to participate in an “undeclared” protest in front of the Institut de France (the gold-domed building across from the Louvre which houses the Académie Française). Just two days before, the French press leaked the news that Peter Thiel, the anti-democracy tech billionaire and co-founder of Palantir, was going to be speaking at a private event there on January 26th. “Undeclared” means no one had time to register the protest in advance with the Préfecture de Police, so technically we didn’t have authorization to be there, but we showed up anyway.
Some of you may remember how protest authorization became a flashpoint during the Gilets Jaunes demonstrations that began in the fall of 2018: they were given a permit to hold their protest on the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower, but decided to march down the Champs-Élysées instead. Thus ensued the internationally televised clashes with police as they approached the President’s Elysée Palace with Molotov cocktails in hand, and in later protests managed to invade and vandalize the Arc de Triomphe. Flash grenades, batons, water cannons, tear gas, and flying cobblestones caused injuries on both sides. But not one bullet was shot, even when police were completely surrounded and attacked.
But there would be no cobblestone throwing at the Institut de France (or I wouldn’t have stayed). Our protest against Peter Thiel was just another angry-but-peaceful demonstration of public opinion with the usual megaphone speeches, chants of discontent, and a few hastily-drawn “Palantir Out” signs (all in French; I didn’t notice any other Americans there). Police allowed us to finish saying what we came to say, but formed a protective wall between us and the building just in case.
I don’t know if Thiel heard us chanting (or cared). This protest was more about drawing attention to his anti-democracy beliefs, his bizarre Antichrist predictions, his out-sized influence on geopolitics, and how his Palantir surveillance technology is being used around the world. Before this protest and the subsequent articles in the French press, most people in France had never even heard of Peter Thiel.
At least now he won’t be able to sneak around behind closed doors in France without closer public scrutiny. I credit public protest for the win, no matter how small.
Dual Citizenship and the Risk of Forced Choice
After all these protests and demonstrations, we share photos on social media to show everyone in the US that we see them, that we stand with them, and that we’ll be holding our government to account come election day.
That’s assuming we can still vote.
In addition to the SAVE Act, there’s another law proposed in Congress – the Exclusive Citizenship Act – that would require Americans like me with dual citizenship to formally choose one nationality within a six-month window, or lose our US citizenship automatically.
Despite spending more than half of my life in France, being American is an integral part of who I am, and not just because I’ve never been able to lose my American accent.
While some Americans may choose to leave their Americanness behind when they emigrate abroad, I like to think I’ve represented my home country well during my decades here in France. I do my part in helping dispel the myth that we’re all “ugly Americans”, much in the same way my Secrets of Paris has been helping my fellow US citizens understand and appreciate the French beyond the usual “rude Parisian” clichés.
Aside from the emotional dimension – you might as well ask a child to choose a parent – my life in France would be very difficult without my French citizenship. I’ve been able to establish a business, make a living, and build a family here without worrying about constantly changing visa renewal requirements. My taxes are going towards my retirement and healthcare benefits.
And most importantly, as a voter I get to have a say in how those considerable French tax contributions are spent, because the American in me will say it again: “No taxation without representation!”
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m not ALSO paying US taxes.
In Case You Missed It: The IRS is Your BFF…FOREVER
In the beginning of this article, I hinted about the rights and obligations of dual citizens.
But the one obligation for anyone with US citizenship – no matter where in the world you live – is to the United States Internal Revenue Service.
Most Americans don’t realize the US is the only country in the world besides Eritrea that taxes its non-resident citizens. But that’s not all. Since the passage of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2010, US citizens like me face banking and investment restrictions that actually cost us money and limit opportunities. You’d think this would create a huge financial incentive for dual citizens to willingly relinquish our US citizenship. But, like many Americans abroad, I accept those burdens because even if I don’t need to be American, I still choose to be American.
I will always be a patriot, loyal to the US Constitution and what it stands for, no matter who happens to be occupying the White House.
I would be terribly heartbroken if the Exclusive Citizenship Act passes into law and I’m forced to make that choice.
PART 2: French Citizenship in Action
You Can’t Escape US Politics by Moving to France
Even if I wanted to fully immerse myself into my French life and ignore what’s happening back in the States, that’s not really possible anymore. US politics have always dominated global headlines. Over the past year, they’ve increasingly intruded into French politics as well.
Shortly after Thiel’s appearance in Paris, deputies in the French National Assembly called out the French company Capgemini for providing surveillance and tracking technology to ICE. Public outcry led the company to announce the sale of its US subsidiary less than a month later.
There have also been reports that a French magistrate was pressured by Trump administration lobbyists to overturn the fraud conviction of far-right leader Marine Le Pen so she could still run for president in 2027. Despite her appeals, the French courts have upheld the guilty ruling.
In France, there is strict regulation and oversight of election campaign financing: former President Sarkozy just spent three weeks in a jail cell for election finance fraud and remains under house arrest for the rest of his five-year sentence if he loses his appeal.
As I’m constantly reminded by a close friend who works for the French Judicial Police, French magistrates have mostly obtained a specific law degree and passed a competitive examination to become a judge or district attorney; they’re not elected or political appointees like in the US.
In France—at least for now—there are consequences for breaking the law, even if you’re a powerful politician or cultural figure.
That includes former French Cultural Minister Jack Lang, who resigned from his latest position as president of the Institut du Monde Arabe after French authorities opened an investigation into possible tax fraud and offshore funds linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
Privacy and protection laws are also much stronger in France. Politicians or news pundits who spread blatantly false and damaging lies – such as Holocaust denial, or declaring all women are enemies of the state who should be sent to breeding gulags – are heavily fined.
Technology platforms don’t get a pass: Elon Musk has been summoned to testify at French government hearings about his X platform illegally extracting user data (Europe has laws against this) and for allowing Grok AI to generate and share images of naked children and “nudified” women.
The tension between American and French political norms made headlines again this week when the US ambassador Charles Kushner was summoned by the French foreign ministry for “breach of diplomatic protocol”. Kushner, the father-in-law of Ivanka Trump, is a convicted felon who was serving time for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering until his 2020 pardon by Donald Trump, who appointed him ambassador to France in 2025 despite having no diplomatic experience.
After the US embassy in Paris retweeted a US State Department message claiming “violent radical leftism is on the rise” following a deadly clash between extremists in Lyon. After he refused to appear to his first summons, the Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced he was restricting his access to senior French officials.
The episode was extraordinary not because ambassadors never disagree with host governments, but because the disagreement played out so openly. Concerns about American partisan rhetoric creeping into French domestic politics have been all over the French news programs this week (surprisingly, this is how some of my American friends living here discovered who our current Ambassador is).
Watching all this unfold has only reinforced my conviction that we have to fight for the democracy we want, or we’ll end up with the democracy we deserve. Which brings me to what that responsibility looks like on my end, as a French citizen.
Exercising Citizenship Locally in France
As soon as I received my French citizenship, I immediately registered to vote. Not only do I have an official French Carte d’Identité to show at the voting station, I also received a cute little voting card that they stamp after you’ve deposited your ballot in the urn, like a voting passport.
I’ve even been a volunteer ballot counter in French elections, where we still use little pieces of paper in envelopes. They’re counted on the spot by volunteers and representatives from all political parties at each voting center, with results tallied and announced before anyone (or any ballot) leaves the room. It’s pretty hack-proof.
I live in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, where for the past three years I’ve been participating in weekly meetups with the local Horizons members (the centrist political party founded in 2021 by one of Macron’s former Prime Ministers, Édouard Philippe). We discuss neighborhood issues (road works and bike lanes come up a lot), host guest speakers (an MEP came to explain how the European Parliament works before the EU elections), or visit local community organizations (last month it was a student food bank). We also distributed flyers around the neighborhood to encourage people to come to a meetup and learn about the relatively new Horizons party.
That’s how I got involved. I was handed a flyer outside my food market by Pegah Malek-Amadi, the young woman who organizes the Horizons meetups for the 13th arrondissement. We bonded immediately over our shared alma mater (University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas) and our family ties to Arizona, where I spent most of my childhood. Pegah’s family fled the Iranian Revolution in 1979; her parents came to Paris, where she was born, and her aunt and uncle settled in Arizona, where her cousins were born.
Although I had voted in several French presidential elections, I doubt I ever would have gotten involved in local French politics if I didn’t have this personal connection. I appreciate Pegah’s sincerity and willingness to do the hard work of bringing so many of her neighbors – of different ages, backgrounds, and interests – together each week to talk and debate about local issues. I only wish I had gotten involved in my local community’s politics sooner.
Municipal Elections and Local Candidates
Paris is now preparing for next month’s hotly contested municipal elections to replace outgoing Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo. The Horizons mayoral candidate is Pierre-Yves Bournazel, with the official support of Macron’s Renaissance party. Fred and I attended last week’s rally at the Cirque d’Hiver (insert political circus jokes here), where both Édouard Philippe and former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal gave speeches on his behalf.
He’s currently polling third, behind Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire on the left and Culture Minister Rachida Dati on the right, but ahead of the candidates on the far left and far right. With a half-dozen serious political parties and two rounds of voting where alliances can shift, outcomes are genuinely difficult to predict (although that doesn’t stop everyone else from doing it anyway).
Paris also elects mayors for each arrondissement. Here in the 13th, our tireless leader Pegah is running under the Horizons banner. It’s strange and thrilling for me to see how the issues we’ve been discussing amongst ourselves the past three years are now listed on her platform. I know this is how politics works, I’ve just never been a direct participant in it before.
For the past few weeks I’ve been helping Pegah’s campaign, handing out flyers with the other volunteers at my Sunday open-air market and speaking to the parents dropping their kids off at the school on my street in the mornings. As someone who has never canvassed for a political candidate, it’s a bit terrifying doing this at all, let alone in French!
But I’ve been happily surprised at how many people are willing to stop and talk, even if we disagree. It feels so….civilized. And so much more satisfying than “liking” or “sharing” yet another meme on social media. For someone supposedly so expensively schooled in political science and interested in being a “good citizen”, I’ll admit I’m embarrassingly late to the game on this one.
Whether my preferred candidates win or not, I’m glad I’ve participated in my small way. I hope by sharing this I can encourage some of you to step out of your comfort zones and take the time to get more involved, no matter where you live and vote.
GET INVOLVED: If You’re a US Citizen in France
If you’re a US citizen in France, there are plenty of ways to get involved, whether it’s helping people register to vote through the non-partisan VotefromAbroad.org, joining protests organized by Indivisible Paris or Paris Against Trump (the next “No Kings” protest is March 28th), or attending Democrats Abroad Paris events like the Tuesday morning Walk & Talk strolls, where we hear first-hand about the upcoming votes taking place in the US and important legislation proposed in Congress. If you prefer to keep a low profile, anyone can participate in the Resist & Unsubscribe movement from the privacy of their own home anywhere in the world. There are also non-partisan lobbying groups that fight for the rights of US citizens living abroad, such as ARRO and the ACA. Finally If I’ve missed anything here, do let me know.
I started this essay saying we probably don’t all agree, and I still believe that’s okay. What I hope we share is the instinct to do something rather than nothing. If you’re finding your own ways to participate — or if you’re still trying to figure out where to start — I’d genuinely love to hear about it in the comments.
Thanks Heather. We just moved closer to Minneapolis. The hot bed of ICE Operations. I have been to Renee and Alex’s memorials. Very moving. I was working downtown Minneapolis the after week Renee was murdered. Asked a Minneapolis officer about how it was going? He told me there was no crime going on. The Minneapolis police just had to put out fires that ICE CREATED. Very interesting on reading about the SAFE ACT. This would be a very easy way to come together on something that makes sense. I consider myself left of center. I don’t want the USA moving to far right or left. We need to come together and compromise on issues.
Very interesting, I am a US citizen and usually vote Democrat. I have talked to other US citizens while in France and noticed same spread as in US younger usually Democrats older not. I am 76. Slightly different spin on article, I am often amazed at how many young and old US citizens think the US saved France in WW2 and want them to be grateful. All the Brits and Canadians and Free French at D Day are never mentioned. Also no mention of all France did for the US Revolution, admittedly for their own self interest in fight with England, but it did affect the US victory substantially.
As always enjoy your observations.
Very interesting, Heather. As a US citizen living in Britain since 1990 and gaining dual nationality after the vote for Brexit here (was so annoyed I couldn’t vote I vowed to get my Brit passport soon after) I feel everything you wrote about. We are facing the threat of Nigel Farage in my adopted country and are watching in horror what is happening in the US. I would never want to be faced with choosing between my nationalities, but in the current climate if Trump or his cronies stayed in power beyond 2028 I’d be tempted to give up my US passport. It is not an easy route. Farage is also trialling the idea of one nationality only as a policy. I have many European friends in the UK who would also be forced to make a choice.
On the up side, I suppose, it does sharpen one’s interest in local politics as well as global! Good luck with your campaigning and protesting. We in London are trying our best too.
Great article, Heather. Well written. You were able to impart lots of information making it interesting with personal experience, an introduction to Pegah, comparisons, etc. Bravo!
Thank you Anne, your community involvement has been an inspiration to me, too. 🙂
Thank you for this article, Heather. So informative, as always.
Should the ECA come to pass, I grapple with the same issue you mention but from the opposite end: I was born in Germany and only moved to the US in my early 20s. Germany is one of those countries which don’t allow dual citizenship, unless certain criteria are met, mainly: You have lived in your “new” country for over 20 years and still have meaningful family ties to Germany, or your financial wealth in the US is greater than $2million (tax law is different for citizens vs residents after that threshold).
I had to go through an application process with the German government to obtain permission to receive US American citizenship and keep my German one. I could have easily given up my German citizenship except: sentimental reasons.
But, just like you are torn, should I ever really have to choose, I would choose my birthplace citizenship, as tough as that choice would be. The problem is: While there is no discernible difference on my life here in the US as a citizen vs permanent resident, in today’s climate, I could potentially be removed from this country that I have lived in well over 30 years and plan on doing so until I die if my status reverts to resident. I would also not be able to vote, be on a jury, or be elected – all reasons why I ultimately chose to apply for the US citizenship after that 20 years threshold was reached.
I echo Robert Ferre’s comment that dual – and even multiple – citizenship should be encouraged, especially in this global age we live in.
Thanks for sharing your story, Britta. That’s a really interesting list of requirements to be able to have dual citizenship. I’m not totally against applying certain conditions, but it does sometimes seem so counter-intuitive.
Populist movements, various geopolitical threats, and other outrages by political leaders we are confronting have – nevertheless – one merit: they awaken in us not only our desire to preserve a healthy democratic debate, but also our fraternal solidarity toward those whose worlds are crumbling and capsizing. More than ever, we understand, by looking in the mirror, how fragile our freedoms are and how much they require us to debate, to vote, and to take to the streets to declare who we are and who we do not wish to become.
Thank you for this courageous statement, ma chérie, because it reminds us how every political decision immediately triggers a tipping effect in our personal daily lives. Indifference remains the constant danger from which only the active exercise of our civic responsibilities can still protect us.
Bravo Heather! Your writing is an interesting look at French politics/law along with the aspects of being an American citizen in France. Yes, the possibility of losing your right to vote or having to choose to be a citizen of one country over the other, are both very disturbing. I often send your online posts regarding protests in Paris/France about American issues to friends, as it is good to know we are being supported by those abroad. I continue to hold out hope that sanity will return to our government as we see one lawsuit at a time helping to reverse some of the unbelievable steps our government is taking these days. Thanks for publishing your thoughts!
Thanks Carol, it’s not always easy to put one’s self out there in these moments. But the more of us who do it, the easier it becomes. I don’t think any United States citizen should be afraid to voice an opinion on the matter, that’s one of the best things about being in a democracy, right?
As an American who has traveled often in France since 1966, but only lived there one year in 2005-06, I found this so enlightening. You do an exceptional job explaining all the complexities, and the emotional ties to two countries. Brilliant!
Thank you Susan, that really means a lot. I wanted to say so much more about how much I love both of “my” countries, but this article was long enough without me explaining how many times I’ve been to Disneyland (as an adult) and how the Stimmlers who emigrated to Philadelphia in the 1830s came from a little village just outside Strasbourg, in the Alsace-Lorraine region. 😉
Extremely interesting and informative Heather! As you know I’m neither a French nor a US citizen but these developments do affect me – apart from being ashamed that both Thiel and Musk were originally from South Africa. I am grateful that my Talent Passport had been renewed so speedily but now I am waiting to see the outcome of the debate concerning expats receiving pension from abroad not being able to apply for French citizenship (spearheaded by the far right!). I do follow several American podcasters at the moment as I find the shocking deterioration of justice in the USA under MAGA globally troubling and upsetting. Best wishes for keeping your dual citizenship and your ability to vote from abroad.
Oh wow, I keep forgetting Musk and Thiel are both from South Africa! Can we de-naturalize those bozos? 😉 Let me know about that French naturalization law, I’d like to make sure I don’t vote for anyone against you having a pension, Leon! (glad you got your visa, though) 🙂
Brava, Heather! I understand the sensitivity that someone running a business has about expressing a political opinion. But as a journalist recently said about the importance of resisting what’s happening to American society, “This is not a drill.” I applaud your courage.
Randy Dillon
Thanks Randy, I wish I didn’t have to report that we lost two members almost immediately after I hit “publish” on this, but we did get a new member of the Community who signed up just to read it! I wish it wasn’t such an uncommon topic, though.
Amazing posting. Thanks so much for you clear, passionate, and important writing on such a significant issue. I have written both of my California Senators to stand up and fight against both the SAVE Act and the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025. I can’t even begin to express my disgust at both these pieces of anti-American and discriminatory pieces of legislation. Keep up the good work. And be sure to dress elegantly at all protests. One must keep up one’s standards at all times, of course!!! ;-)))
Merci Philip, I always try to dress nicely at protests in case I’m pulled aside for questioning by a handsome police officer. 😉
I think dual citizenship should be encouraged, not outlawed. Living abroad gives a much broader perspective of the world. Right wing xenophobia comes from a myopic view called American exceptionalism. I live in Texas where politicians compete to be the most biased and exclusive. One candidate emphasizes that there is no place in Texas for sharia law, as if that were a problem. Another has ads with him brandishing a baseball bat and promising if elected he is going to clobber those liberals. A moslem group planning to develop an Islamic residential community has faced many hurdles by those who feel they are unAmerican and should be illegal. More distressing than the attempt to eliminate DEI programs (diversity, equality, inclusion) is the number of universities and corporations who have been compliant and regressive just to avoid any possible negative political repercussions. Nor does the attack on immigrants, even those who are citizens, make any sense. Statistics show they are more law abiding than native born Americans, and work hard to make positive contributions to their communities. Unless you are native American, we are all descendants of immigrants. Spreading hatred and prejudice has one purpose: control and manipullation. It may take decades to recover from our current destructive policies, but I think America has the strength to do it. Minnesotans have been an inspiration to the whole country. Yet polls say 60% of the population oppose ICE policies and tactics. Really? Only 60%? If I had to choose one, I would take French citizenship.
I totally agree, Robert. Dual citizenship only makes me MORE patriotic, not less. But I think common sense (along with common decency) left the conversation long ago.
You have taught me a lot, Heather. Thank you – I’m very glad you published this commentary and hope you will keep us posted in this area. Warm regards to you and your family.
Thanks Lisa, I will report back in March after the first round of Municipal elections on the 15th!