Posted on 07/08/2003 7:01:01 AM PDT by BluH2o
Peter Jennings takes up U.S. citizenship
After pondering the idea seriously for a decade -- and weathering a recent controversy in which his Canadian roots were an issue -- ABC News anchor Peter Jennings has become an American citizen.
The Toronto-born journalist, who was raised in Ottawa and still retreats from fame every summer to a farm in the nearby Gatineau Hills, said yesterday the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and his recent travels throughout the country have made him feel "much more connected to the Founding Fathers' dreams and ideas for the future."
Mr. Jennings, who turns 65 later this month, has been working in the U.S. since 1964 and has been anchoring the ABC network's nightly newscast since 1983.
"It's been on my mind for many years, obviously, I've been here such a long time," he told CanWest News Service from his office in New York. "As a Canadian friend said to me today, I've always made clear my love for America. And it was a good time to formally declare that affection, along with a sense of debt and gratitude to the country that's made it possible for me to have a wonderful life both professionally and personally."Mr. Jennings, who will retain his Canadian citizenship, quickly added: "That does not for a second, as any smart American will tell you, mean you have to renounce your roots."
The broadcaster's formal pledge of allegiance came during a regularly scheduled citizenship ceremony on May 30 at a government office in Lower Manhattan.
"The Immigration Service said, 'Well, we just thought that if you really wanted to tell your friends first, we'd keep this a little bit quiet,' " Mr. Jennings recalled. "But I went in the front door and came out the front door. They were regular people. They were very touching. And I cried a little bit -- my kids didn't cry, but I cried a bit -- but I'm a fairly emotional character anyway.
"The process to become an American citizen is neither quick, nor easy," he added. "Among other things, you have to take a test. I'm very proud: I got 100. Good thing, too, as I'd just finished a book on America with a friend of mine."
In fact, says Mr. Jennings, it was while travelling to write and then promote the book -- titled In Search of America -- that he decided to apply for U.S. citizenship.
"I think that 9/11 and the subsequent travel I did in the country afterwards made me feel connected in new ways," he said. "And when we were working on the America project I spent a lot of time on the road, which meant away from my editor's desk, and I just got much more connected to the Founding Fathers' dreams and ideas for the future."
At this time last year, Mr. Jennings was at the centre of an uproar over the scratching of a jingoistic country song from the lineup of a live Independence Day telecast he was hosting. A decision by producers to drop Toby Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue -- which includes a line warning potential foes that the U.S. will "put a boot in your ass" -- made Mr. Jennings and his Canadian citizenship popular targets for attack on talk radio stations and Internet sites.
"I thought that was a bit silly to be honest," he said, insisting that the issue played no part in his decision to apply for American citizenship.
"Of course not. You don't make decisions like this based on political grounds. I'm aware that, over the years, that if people took exception to me it was, on occasion, easy to club me around a bit, saying, 'Well, he's Canadian'.... (But) one doesn't make life-defining decisions for superficial reasons."
Mr. Jennings said the strong cultural nationalism of his parents had prevented him from giving serious thought to dual citizenship before their deaths. His father, Charles, was a pioneering CBC broadcaster and his mother, Elizabeth, who died in 1992, was a prominent supporter of the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company.
"I clearly was never going to be really active about it while my mom was alive. I think she would have been surprised, to say the least. My mom was very, very, very deeply Canadian, and to some extent quite anti-American."
Mr. Jennings first mused publicly about becoming a U.S. citizen last September in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, in which he admitted feeling "more American than Canadian."
He said yesterday that he consulted his wife, Kayce Freed, his adult children Christopher and Elizabeth, and his sister Sarah -- an Ottawa writer and businesswoman -- before making his final decision.
Last week, barely a month after being granted his American citizenship, Mr. Jennings was invited to make a toast to the United States at a Fourth of July ceremony in Philadelphia.
"After giving this toast on Friday night, I was sitting next to Justice (Antonin) Scalia of the Supreme Court, who said, 'Well, not bad for a Canadian.' And I said, 'Well, can you keep a secret?' He said, 'What?' I said, 'I'm actually an American.' "
With news of his American citizenship to be revealed in the U.S. today, Mr. Jennings said he wanted to alert Canadians at the same time "that my life has changed."
His annual vacation in Canada, he said, "gives me such spiritual refreshment as a human being. We're getting to that time of year where we're on our way up there for a month, and that will forever be 'going home.' "
I hope that is the extent of it. Maybe he wants to run for public office.
I don't think that America supports much dual citizenship.
I tried to find details explaining it on a government site but could not (quickly). Here is a website that went into it. If Petah had been born in Canada to American parents (and raised in America) then he might have qualified. I beleive that our loyalty oath prohibits dual alligence.
Dual Citizenship FAQ: Dual Nationality and United States Law
Countries usually frame their citizenship laws with little or no regard for the citizenship laws of other countries. In my son's case, for instance, the US does not care that Canada thinks he is a Canadian citizen, and Canada does not care that the US thinks he is a US citizen. Sometimes a country may seek to restrict dual citizenship by requiring one of its citizens born with some other citizenship to renounce (give up) the other citizenship upon reaching adulthood. Newly naturalized citizens may similarly be required to renounce their previous citizenship(s); the US has such a requirement, for example, but Canada does not. In some cases, a country will automatically revoke the citizenship of one of its citizens who acquires another country's citizenship by naturalization, even if no explicit renunciation was involved.Where one country requires a citizen to renounce the citizenship of another country, this renunciation may or may not be recognized by the other country. This can sometimes lead to sticky legal situations. Also, countries which require such renunciations differ in how seriously they treat this requirement. In some cases (such as Singapore), an applicant for naturalization may be required by his new country to go to an embassy or consulate of his old country and renounce his old citizenship in a manner prescribed by his old country's laws. Other countries (such as the US in recent years) may treat their own naturalization oaths' renunciatory language as essentially meaningless and take no steps to enforce it at all.
Rush reportedly gave FR a plug yesterday in reference to the moron.org online activism and poll that put Howard Dean on top.
I think that one thread even said he had a hot link on his website to Free Republic in his writeup about conservative activism on the web.
A former Canadian I became a US citizen in 1974. At that time you could not carry dual citizenship. Don't recall the specifics but in order to have US citizenship you had to give up your claim to your original citizenship.
The Oath of Citizenship
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God. In acknowledgement whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.
Cordially,
This should never be allowed. One or the other, we don't need no steeekin dual loyalties.
"My mom was very, very, very deeply Canadian, and to some extent quite anti-American."
What a condescending, smarmy POS, I'm smarter than you crap is that.
"and to some extent quite anti-American"- ok Peter, some of us graduated college with English backgrounds, and your sentence here is a contrived and an obvious piece of Clintonesque crap verbosity.
In this regard, Brian Williams has nothing on you.
I like it!
I still remember when he loftily intoned "Let us roll". He's the dictionary definition of smarmy to me.
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