From TPM Reader SH …
I’ve lived in America ever since I was five, but I only recently became a citizen at the age of 35. In fact, the day that I became a citizen is the day that George W. Bush was elected to his second term in office.
I don’t know why I didn’t become a citizen earlier, but I do know what pushed me to become one. The policies of George W. Bush were damaging the country that I loved, and I couldn’t make a difference unless I could vote.
My father had the opposite viewpoint. He has been here as long as I have, and he is still not a citizen. With Bush in power, he became ashamed of America, and he started talking about how he never wanted to be a citizen of this country. In fact, he told me this on the day that I became a citizen. I love him, but I felt like punching him.
Today, I have a different feeling. After eight years of watching this country do things that I am not proud of, I have voted — for the first time in my life — for someone who I believe will help make things better. Better not only in terms of policy, but in terms of tone. I look at the things that Obama has done and I am truly hopeful that he can help us get past our troubles over the last eight years and bring us together as a country.
My father feels the same way.
