Assignment:
1. To me, being an American means knowing American history, and how hard the founding fathers fought for this country. It means ensuring that their efforts are not in vain by upholding the ideas and concepts that they fought for. It means upholding liberty and freedom for all, not just some. It means holding elected officials accountable and ensuring that no one person or institution has so much power in a country. It also means being loyal to America and ensuring that you put her well-being first, above all else.
2. From my understanding, anyone who is able to read and write English, understand American history, understand how the government works, and also understand their rights is eligible to be a citizen. This is with the exception of children born on American soil, who automatically become citizens from birth. Also, anyone who is willing to lay down their lives and contribute positively to society is eligible to become a citizen.
3. To an extent, I would qualify. The only place I would fall short is that I'm not willing to be loyal to America. As an immigrant, I will always put my country first; however, I will always mean America well and contribute positively to society. Having studied in America for many years now, I know American history well, I have always spoken and written English fluently because I come from an English-speaking country, and I understand how the American government works. Therefore, by my standards, I would not entirely qualify. However, according to the citizenship test that I took, I would qualify to be an American citizen.
4. The test was relatively easy to take. The questions mostly focused on history, government, and major events that happened to America. They asked questions about the independence and things such as the Declaration of Independence, Emancipation Proclamation, and the Constitutional Convention. They also asked questions regarding the duties of a citizen. I would say that the questionnaire covered most of the things that any country would want her citizens to know and remember. Some of such things include fulfilling jury duty as a citizen, participating politically either by voting or joining community groups that foster political participation and holding elected officials accountable. My score on the test was 80%.
Works Cited
https://my.uscis.gov/en/prep/test/civics/view