The Wild Reed: Welcome to the U.S.A. . . . Officially

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Welcome to the U.S.A. . . . Officially

The Warren E. Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown St. Paul was recently the site of a protest against the federal government’s arrest and charging of 15 people accused of conspiring to impede immigration enforcement operations earlier this year in the Twin Cities.

At one point during this protest, law enforcement deployed chemical irritants and flash bangs against the citizens who had gathered to voice their concern and opposition to what Steve Young, Green Party candidate for governor, identifies as a sign that “the fascist fist is tightening because it knows that it is losing its grasp on us.”

For many of us, Young’s words are an accurate description of what is happening across the U.S.A., even as its citizens prepare to celebrate how 250 years ago a band of revolutionaries declared their independence from a king.

Yet as John and Nisha Whitehead write for The Rutherford Institute, “Now, as America prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, we are confronted with a bitter irony: the republic born in rebellion against empire has become an empire in everything but name.”

“Worse,” the Whiteheads continue, “the U.S. government is violating the very principles that justified the American Revolution. Emergency powers, mass surveillance, endless wars and executive authority have become embedded in the architecture of government. What began as a response to [the September 11, 2001] crisis has become a permanent way of governing. The question is not whether America survived 250 years. The question is whether the principles of 1776 can survive the American police state.”

In the shadow of such a sobering question, I found myself yesterday at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building and Courthouse for the naturalization ceremony that officially made me a citizen of the United States of America.

Yes, after 32 years of living and working in the U.S. – first on a Student Visa, followed by a Religious Worker Visa, and then a Green Card – I now have all the rights and duties of a citizen.

During the last two years of so, I came to realize that I had three reasons for becoming a citizen, one of which is being able to vote. I’ve long been interested and involved in U.S. politics, and have supported and/or campaigned for a number of candidates over the years – Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke, Bernie Sanders, Marianne Williamson, Omar Fateh, Nina Turner, Elijah Manley, Ilhan Omar, Jill Stein and Butch Ware. Currently, I’m supporting and working on a number of local Green Party campaigns, including those of Steve Young & Jane Kirby for Governor & Lieutenant Governor and Seth Kuhl-Stennes for Secretary of State. I’m glad to know that I can now actually vote for the candidates I put so much time and work into supporting. And in so doing, I’ll be doing my bit to help the principles of 1776 survive the current American fascist state.

On a decidedly lighter note, on Thursday my work colleagues threw a little “citizenship party” for me; while following yesterday’s naturalization ceremony two dear friends hosted a lovely afternoon soirée for me in the backyard of their St. Paul home. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!