What Makes a Person "One of Our Own?"

See letter to the editor at the end of this post:

What makes a boy "one of our own?" Is it because the young man was born here?

Would he still be one of our own if he was born in the U.S. and at age two he moved to Italy, and stayed throughout adulthood? What if in Italy he learned Italian, went to their schools, and even studied the history of the Roman Empire or played with an Italian soccer team?

Would that boy be American or Italian? What if he couldn't even speak English anymore? What if he could speak Italian only?
What if he was the president of the student body at his Italian high school? Would the Italians consider him one of their own?

Its kind of like being adopted... people adopt children that were not born to them, but they raised them, and the children know no one else as parents. Are they the children of their adoptive parents?

Because of NAFTA and other ramifications of capitalism and globalization, the DREAM ACT student found himself/herself in the United States. They might have been born in Guatemala, but soon after birth they were already in the U.S. - they know no other country.

The final question is, does a child become "one of our own" by growing up in a community and taking in the culture and traditions of that community? Or is he "not one of our own" just because he happened to be born somewhere else, and his parents didn't have the money and/or social status to regularize their residence in the U.S.?



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Letter to the Editor
It's time to take care of our own
Arizona Republic
Sept. 24, 2007 12:00 AM

Regarding the scholarship program for illegal immigrant students at Arizona State University:

Now, remind me, why my son has to take out thousands of dollars in a loan to finance his education and they are doling out scholarships to illegal aliens?

Tell me why ASU President Michael Crow is so bent on taking care of everyone else except our own.

We have plenty of citizens here in Arizona who could use these scholarships to further their education. I, for one, think it is well past time for the arrogant elite to step aside and allow someone to take charge who actually cares for our citizenry. - Brent Layton,Claypool