Citizenship

Today a friend of mine became a US Citizen and I went to the ceremony to cheer her on. I have never been to one before and thus have never heard the Oath of American Citizenship before. Here it is:

Oath of American Citizenship

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.

Wow. That's pretty heavy and something that I don't know that I can say and mean at this point in my life. In contrast, here's the Canadian oath:

Oath of Citizenship - Canada

I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.

Short and much less specific than the American one - follow the law and live up to your responsibilities. Nothing about enemies (foreign or domestic) or abjuring anything or serving in the army. You don't have to give up anything to be a Canadian whereas you have to renounce all previous fealties to be an American. And you don't have to swear under god - bringing religions into politics always kind of creeps me out. Even if I wasn't a Canadian to begin with, I think I could easily say that oath. The American one I'd have to seriously think about.