I had a student visa
when I married my wife Diana who is from Philadelphia and I had received my
Green Card, when we moved to Watertown, Massachusetts where I became the rector
of an Episcopal Church. During our time
there, the height and the fall of the Nixon era, I realized that to continue to
minister in an American setting I needed to take a greater responsibility by
applying for citizenship. The process
was somewhat onerous. Among other things
I had to return to Canada and apply at the United States Embassy in St. John,
New Brunswick. Never having been to that
part of Canada it seemed odd, but one does what one has to do.
I remember four questions from the
interview for citizenship. One was the
question, “Are you now, or have you ever been a Communist?” Like many young Canadians in my generation I
voted NDP [New Democratic Party] because it was the Socialist-Communist
coalition and I was a Fabian Socialist, but I also realized that I had never
joined the Communist Party; so the answer was, “No!” Putting that in context for today, voting NDP
was like voting for Obama. I felt like
asking, “Why don’t you ask, ‘Are you now, or have you ever been, a Fascist?’” Experience shows that many of us who voted
socialist in those days slid to the right the longer we were employed and the
saner we became.
The second question, stemming
from my application form that included questions on memberships was “What is
Foreign Missions?” My answer was not at
all interesting to the interviewer.
The third question was “Are
you now, or have you ever been a habitual drunkard?” It was clear from my application that I had
joined AA several years before. So I
said, “Alcoholism is a disease, not a habit.”
The interviewer said, “Just answer the question.” So I answered, “No.” By the way as of this July I have been sober
for 44 years, so I guess my answer was right.
The fourth question, or
rather demand, was, “Please say in English “I would like to become an American
citizen.” I retorted, “I speak better
English than you do!” The interviewer
was not happy and said, “Just say it!”
When Nixon was pardoned
by President Ford I wrote Ford a letter explaining that as the Rector of an Massachusetts
Episcopal Church, and as a Democrat who had voted for Ted Kennedy, I was of the
opinion that although Nixon was pardoned rather than brought to the bar of
justice that the country had had enough of the whole painful saga and that Ford
had done the right thing. I was amazed
to receive a thank you letter from Ford who also let me know that he had
forwarded my letter to Ted Kennedy.
Subsequently I received a scathing letter from Kennedy asking how, as a
man of God, I could take such a sinful position? To which I replied that as one who had voted
for him, but was not as wealthy as him, I wasn’t sure that justice had been
done at Chappaquiddick, and if I were he I wouldn’t say anything. Shortly after that two men in conservative
blue suits turned up during a Sunday morning Eucharist, took notes through the
sermon, and left at the passing of the Peace.
My guess was that, like many dissenters during that era, my name was on
a list somewhere.
I was never really
asked where my true allegiance lay. My allegiance
lies with the Kingdom of God and with its King, Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God.
That allegiance determines the nature of my response to citizenship in
the United States. By the way, yes, The
United States of America is the land of opportunity, and for immigrants who are
willing to go through a legitimate application process, speak the language and work hard the rewards are great.
