Belonging

“YOU.ARE.NOW.CITIZENS.OF.THE.UNITED.STATES.OF.AMERICA.” said the judge clearly and deliberately. No one in the room could help but be moved, and I left feeling every citizen of our country should attend such a ceremony. It helped me remember what a privilege it is to live here, what responsibilities come from being a citizen, and what an opportunity we all have to make our country a better place.

There was one moment in particular that stayed with me, however, like no other. It happened when one of the newest citizens, a Muslim woman dressed with a hijab, shook hands with a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, dressed in an elegant suit. In that instant, they were equals. They belonged to America, and America belonged to them, equally.

The reason why the moment was so poignant was we don’t see things that way. Whether it’s in citizenship, or some other sphere of belonging, we often see gradations of belonging, where some are made to appear more valuable than others.

At a club I know, members actually work behind the scenes to get lower membership numbers because the lower the number, the more prominent their membership appears. At a school where I once worked, we were clearly instructed to sit or stand in seniority order for the annual faculty photograph. As members elbowed their way into position, it was clear the most valuable members were in front. In recovery circles, people use their time in sobriety as a form of status, rather than focusing on the present day. In churches, you can see it all over the place, not only in names adorning buildings and rooms, but in the way the minister is considered holier than the other members of the congregation.

In many ways, I think this way of looking at the world is what caused people to crucify Christ. He opened the gates of God’s love and grace to outsiders, and those who considered themselves insiders were furious. Through all he said and did, he clearly believed there were no levels of adoption into God’s family.

I don’t know what was going on in the minds of the Muslim or the Daughter of the American Revolution, but I think the founders of our country were dancing.