While still calling yourself an American citizen while living abroad it's quite a bit disingenuous to say you are "engaged" in the fight for America.
Posted on 07/04/2016 8:49:14 AM PDT by lulu16
"Are you still entitled to consider yourself an American if you choose to live abroad?
As Vice President of Business Development for Best Places in the World to Retire, I have been told by many people living abroad that they have been told (let’s say, by their sister-in-law, Betty) that, because of their decision to live abroad, they were no longer “American”. A month and a half ago, my wife and I crossed over the US – Mexico border into Mexico and became expats, which makes this is our first American Independence Day living abroad, and which makes Betty’s challenge now a personal one for me. Because I’m now living outside the US, am I now less American?
Before we see if you agree, let’s clear up come confusion by first defining the term “expat.” “Expat” is short for “expatriate”, which just means someone living outside his or her country of citizenship. It has nothing to with the word “patriot” or “patriotism.” “Expatriot” isn’t even a word. If you don’t believe me, look it up.
We can define “American” in two ways. The first should be pretty unarguable. An American is someone who is a citizen of the United States. So, unless someone renounces his or her citizenship, any US citizen living in the US or anywhere else in the world is still an American, which means that Betty is wrong in the legalistic sense.
But I believe that Betty is communicating something more, which is that if you choose to live outside the borders of the US, you relinquish your right to be included in the social or cultural group as an “American,” that perhaps you have rejected America, or that perhaps you are in some way less American than those living in the US..."
(Excerpt) Read more at bestplacesintheworldtoretire.com ...
Here is an article on this 4th of July that asks if you can still be an American if you live abroad, and, for Freepers, the more important question on this Independence Day: "What exactly is an 'American?'"
For all you expats living abroad like myself, I wish you all a blessed Independence Day!
The five years I spent abroad is what opened my eyes to the lies of libtards and the corruption of our own society.
What is it like there? Where were you from here in the U.S.A?
Your tale sounds exciting! :D
Worked in Australia for almost four years. It was informative to be sure. It was doubly interesting to read news about the US from their perspective. Best ever evening was explaining our Electoral College system of voting for president.
(Flame Suit on) Well, there are plenty of true Syrians, true Somalis, true Mexicans living here.
If that makes me somehow "less" of an American, then I'm perfectly content to stop identifying myself as an American in anything other than a legal, abstract, utilitarian fashion.
What I found utterly pathetic was that every Canadian I knew understood our Electoral College system better than the idiocy I was seeing in American media reports at the time.
In fact, my frustration over this is what led me to sign up here on FreeRepublic! LOL.
While still calling yourself an American citizen while living abroad it's quite a bit disingenuous to say you are "engaged" in the fight for America.
I lived in Japan for 5 years - broke a collarbone and my wife had a baby there, so when someone starts talking about how marvelous universal health care is, I sidle up and say, “do you really want to know about universal health care...?”
I have a niece that lives in Chile and had lived in Canada. She's constantly trashing things in the U.S. while enjoying a fairly lavish lifestyle due to the fact that she and her husband work for Caterpillar.
Okay, tell us about Universal health care....
Interesting read.
Yes, technically, the expats are still American citizens.
Yes, the ideals of America transcend borders and can be found in people in other countries.
I may get flamed. But, I question why someone wants to go live in another country, if one is American and devoted to the ideals of America. Why go live in another country in retirement?
You are still an American citizen if you go to another country to live. But you are not able to do certain things, such as work in election campaigns, or directly work to make this country better, if you are off in Mexico or somewhere else. You can send money and all that, to help political campaigns and other causes. But you won’t be able to directly work for some causes you believe in, and affect change here in American if you aren’t on the premises.
Agreed.
Being an American is more than the real estate underneath your feet. It is a state of mind.
Consider the converse: how many millions of people live in the lower 48 who are communist (for all intents and purposes)? Or only interested in taking whatever they can get without giving a fair equivalent (such as working for it)? These people cannot be reasonably be regarded as ‘American’, imo.
The author of the piece is now living in Mexico! Mexico? A country who thumbs her nose at us and continues to send their drunks, drugs, criminals, rapists and murders across the border?
He apparently is comfortable with living in that feces-hole.
I would consider the author of this piece to be totally UN-American!
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, a lot of Jazz musicians lived in Europe. I think most of them still considered themselves Americans, and the Europeans definitely did.
Expats cannot buy firearms in the US because they are not residents of a state—so in that sense the are less ‘American!’ than green card holders.
The only question I have is WHY? If you are there because your work has you deployed there (i.e. You are in the military or at an embassy) then you are not an ex-pat.
IF you are living outside the US for any other reason, IMHO, you are no longer American. Turn in your citizenship and become part of whatever country you are living in
According the IRS you are still an American. We are one of the only nations on earth that requires you to file taxes no matter where you live. If you shack up with a 15 year old Filipina the FBI sees you as an American. If you are claiming to own a chunk of the moon, the government see’s you as an American.
If you are Julian Assange, the government wants to charge you, an Aussie, with treason against America.
The government is like a creepy ex girlfriend, they just can’t let go.
I am always amused when citizens of parliamentary democracies comment on our Electoral College system. How many Brits or Aussies actually get to vote for their PM? Only those who live in his/her constituency/riding etc.
Having served over 22 years abroad with the US Army, Army Civil Service and US Department of State, I can say that I was unaware of the Racism in the Black Community towards Whites and Asians, and the greed of the political left upon my return. So in many ways being an America overseas is an exercise in defending something that no longer existed by the time of my return five years ago.
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