I am more 100 percent American than some of the born Americans. I resent some losses of freedom more quickly. I mean I want to be proud of my country, I think more than a born American does. That way I feel I am an immigrant. Otherwise I have never felt like one.
- Rachel Goldman – Jewish, from Russia. Arrived 1946.

There are two types of American citizens – first, those who were born in the United States of America, and, secondly, those who had to apply and, in these present days, had to prove they are fit to receive this distinct privilege.

I firmly believe that each naturalized citizen had their individual dream of a Utopian dimension, a dream about their future life in the United States. Some call it the American dream, but this is merely a generic, all-encompassing term.

As someone who is still on the path to American citizenship, I am following my personal, Utopian dream. I understand American citizenship as a privilege, but I also believe that too many people, born with that privilege, were willing to give up the ideas of the founding fathers, and the first years after September 2001, are proof for that statement.

My dream is that my son, who is an American citizen, learns to appreciate the privilege and acts accordingly. After all, our children are the message we send into the future. And while I am still on my path to citizenship, I will share my progress, my observations, and my dream. I will also attempt to share the stories and the dreams of others who came into this country, those people who I call my fellow Utopians.

Arianna Huffington

Arianna’s story is unusual only because she is famous. Otherwise, she is very much the story of the American dream: a highly intelligent, determined person decides that she wants to make the best of her life. She looks around the world, as did the Pilgrims and tens of millions of Western and Eastern Europeans (and many others) over a period of four hundred years, and she sees promise in America. This nation of unlimited social mobility wins again. [Read the article...]