Dual citizenship and service
It was the day after that bruising leadership contest for leadership of the People’s National Party (PNP) that I was carrying out a post-mortem of sorts with someone very dear to me. She is a bright, young professional who was secretly entertaining ambitions of entering representational politics. I suggested to her that this may be a good time to make her ambitions known. She balked at the suggestion. At my urging, she explained that she had dual citizenship and would have to give up her US citizenship.
This annoyed me greatly, as I thought we had long passed this nonsense. I have since done some research to gauge the public thinking on this matter. I know Member or Parliament and Labour Minister Shahine Robinson was one of the individuals who was challenged by the PNP’s Manley Bowen in 2009. She resigned her seat, relinquished her US citizenship, and regained her seat in a by-election. She was also ordered by the court to pay $19 million.
There were two arguments making the rounds supporting this country’s position. The first had to do with an adoption of the American position. So let’s look at that first:
The first white settlers in what is now the United States were from Britain. They suffered harsh persecution — some were killed — because of their religious beliefs. So they took the hazardous journey across the Atlantic to a place they felt they could worship in peace.
Of major concern to them was the likelihood that this new-found peace could be interrupted. They had no army. Theirs was a nation with an unproven system of government, and European history was replete with examples of wealthy, influential princes influencing weaker nations. The likelihood of one of these princes coming to their new country and establishing a monarchy — which they loathed — weighed heavily on the minds of the framers on the summer of 1787 as they gathered for the constitutional convention in Philadelphia.
Two years ago, Federal Election Commission Chairman Trevor Potter explained how they dealt with this matter, “…The founders took steps to guard against such interference by including in our constitution guardrails like the requirement that the president be a ‘natural born citizen’.”
During the 1990s I was sometimes invited to the home of Dr Whittaker and his charming Australian wife. To get there I had to go to Kintyre, then journey into the hills to a place called Dallas. It was several visits before I learned that I was sitting in the lap of history. Long, long before, the Dallas family owned that property, and their son Alexander was born not far from where I was sitting. Alexander went to the United States and eventually became United States secretary of the treasury. He had six children there. One of them, George, became the 11th vice-president of the United States. There are at least 12 towns and cities named in his honour.
Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeline Albright are just two of a long list of immigrants who have served in senior Cabinet positions in the US.
My poor Aunt Lea was just a starry-eyed, innocent teenager when she went to Kingston for the first time. She met and married a tall, handsome lothario who departed for the US almost immediately — ostensibly looking for suitable accommodation to then send for her. She looked, listened, and waited… for years. Then she made the sad journey back to the country to a life of church and solitude.
Decades later, US Embassy officials ferreted her out of a prayer meeting at Top Goshen in Brown’s Town. They said her husband (who?) had died, but he had obtained citizenship. And the widows of US citizens had entitlements and benefits. That was the last time Aunt Lea ever walked to church — or anywhere else for that matter.
There are tremendous benefits to being a citizen of countries like the US, UK, and Canada. You cannot be deported — even if you are convicted of a crime. You can obtain federal benefits available only to US citizens, like full access to certain government programmes such as federal college assistance. You can apply for green cards for relatives and sponsor family members. Your children automatically become US citizens regardless of where they are born.
My mother was born at the canal zone in Panama when her father was working on the canal. Although she never used it, she was automatically a citizen and entitled to an American passport. I mention this because it is one of the most powerful passports in the world. With it, she would have been able to travel to 180 countries for short-term visits without a visa and take as many trips abroad for as long as she wanted and seek assistance from the nearest embassy whenever she was in trouble. She would also be eligible for federal employment. Federal employees and their families tend to receive better benefits and earnings than private sector workers.
Wilmoth “Motty” and Elaine Perkins and I lived in the same neck of the woods. Whenever I mentioned what appeared to me to be an injustice, he had the same words for me: “The black in the flag means hardship — and punishment.” I used to laugh, until one day I looked into those sightless eyes and realised he was deadly serious. So I stopped laughing and started to think.
Regardless of promises of prosperity, there is absolutely no likelihood that this country will be able to offer its citizens benefits comparable to these rich, developed countries. Could it really be hardship, punishment with liberal sprinklings of ‘bad mind’ why this provision exists?
The second excuse given is that people with dual citizenship “can just pass bad laws and leave the country”.
Can anyone tell me the last time one person passed a law in Jamaica? What absolute arrant nonsense. This is unworthy of discussion. I am wondering, however, if the nation will trust me if I take this opportunity to assure everyone that there is no wealthy European prince who is planning to take over Jamaica.
The founding fathers of the American democracy can be forgiven for the guardrails inserted in their constitution. In the 18th century they could not have anticipated 21st century technology and the many innovations that have redefined the republic they created. What excuse do we have?
So, imagine, if you will, a Jamaican with the tremendous benefits that dual citizenship offers, who wants to serve his or her country through representational politics. That person must divest himself or herself of all these wonderful benefits to serve in a position offering a mediocre salary and pension. Isn’t this hardship, and punishment, and bad mind? Isn’t this just stupidly foolish?
I think it is full time we exorcise from our constitution, the ‘duppyisms’, Anancyisms, and rolling calves that we have mindlessly borrowed from other jurisdictions and placed upon the backs of our citizens.
Glenn Tucker, MBA, is an educator and a sociologist. Send comments to the Observer or glenntucker2011@gmail.com.