Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Aussie and U.S. Citizenship oaths


Somehow the differences in these two oaths talk about the differences in the nations.


1. Australia:

Officially called the "Pledge of Commitment":
From this time forward, under God,
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,
whose democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect, and
whose laws I will uphold and obey.
All new citizens have the choice of making the pledge with or without the words 'under God'.


2. United States:

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.


Which country is more afraid? Why?

To see other citizenship oaths, check out wikipedia's citizenship oaths page.

5 comments:

Megs said...

i'm not saying that!!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
aussie aussie aussie
oi oi oi!
incidentally, guess what passport i'm in process of getting? My Irish!! I am Irish. i AM irish. i am IRISH. AND
guess which of these oaths the plan is for one of bens and megs to say one day????

Justin said...

I wrote my post, then read you comment. Mind you, you are asking a different question than I am.

You ask: Which is more afraid?

And the obvious answer is the States. [I'm not sure how you would argue from those two oaths that it could be Australia]. But two thoughts:

1. Does it have more to do with history than fear? [PRob not, but worth asking the questions]

2. Does the US have more reason to be afraid? [And not just cos of its foreign policy].

Interesting side note: Wiki said that this line: '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' doesn't have to be said on every occasion. I wonder when it is not said?

baker st jones said...

I don't know. Perhaps Australia is more afraid because it isn't confident it won't be rejected if it makes greater demands. Perhaps America is more afraid because it demands its citizens to be prepared to fight.

And....politics will never make you happy.

Benjamin Ady said...

Justin, meet Tom (Baker street Jones), Megs' brother, australian in London. Tom, meet Justin, australian in new york. but megs says maybe you already know each other.

Indeed--I suspect nothing will ever make us happy (unless you define happy rather narrowly)

Does the U.S. have more reason to be afraid...No. But it still *is* more afraid. interesting...

Justin said...

I do know Tom. Not as well as I know Megan or Rachael. And I know Anita. And I do look forward to one day meeting their kiddo.