So now, let us reason together (IS. 1:18) about whether we should confer the privilege on all persons, who are citizens of Belize as well as of other countries, to run for public office in Belize.
One of the stronger arguments against the amendment to the constitution is that persons with dual citizenship will have divided loyalties. Those who stand firmly on this argument express it this way: “You cannot serve two masters.” This view accords with the Word of our Lord to His disciples but, he went on to clarify saying, “You cannot serve God and Mammon,” which means you have to choose between Good and Evil. However, you can serve your country of birth and your adopted country, provided that their objectives are not in conflict. At any rate, there are times when an individual with more than one nationality, will have to choose between the interests of his countries.
The other strong argument I have heard is that our citizenship would be devalued by this amendment, as it already has been by the law granting citizenship to persons who made monetary contributions to our Consolidated Fund.
In an issue like the one before us, it is to be expected that our fellow Belizeans will have very strong feelings and, as we have heard over the airwaves and seen in print, their views have been expressed with great passion. Because they are voiced with emotion does not mean they have not given serious thought before stating their position. There is a time for passionate feelings and certainly breaking with tradition, as proposed, would elicit this kind of response. However, I would like to suggest that no matter how sure we are of the rightness of our position, those members of our society with diametrically opposite views are not necessarily perverse and, that they may be as patriotic as we are. So, let me implore you again to let the light of reason shine on our discourse, so that all views on the subject are considered fairly and judiciously.
Firstly, it should be remarked that the disqualification of persons who are naturalized citizens and persons with dual nationality from holding public office is the norm in democratic countries, as far as I am aware. Recently the political opponents of President Barack Obama have been trying to cast a cloud over his presidency by insinuating that he was not born in the USA. According to American law, a citizen of that country would not be eligible to hold public office unless he was born in America. So, the proposed amendment to the constitution would be considered as breaking new ground amongst democratic countries. It has not been in the record for small countries like Belize to take the lead in the advance of democratic principles.
When there is a proposition like the one we are considering, it is the practice to put forward the arguments for and against, and to strike a balance in favor of one side or the other at the end. That would take too long. So, I propose that we consider what is to be gained by adopting the proposal and, what is to be lost. Only when the writer considers the most important thing on either side – other things may be more important to my readers and, I am aware that the views put forward are purely subjective.
What is to be gained
We will gain a much larger pool from which to choose our leaders and, I think you will agree with me that since independence, there is much room for improvement in our leadership. One really good leader can make a lot of difference in the quality of life of the citizens of a country. I give you the examples of Simon Bolivar in the Americas and Benjamin Disraeli in the United Kingdom. The example of Disraeli would be apropos to our discussion. Disraeli was a Jew of Italian/Spanish ancestry. He came along at a time when to be a Jew was no longer a disqualification for public office, as it had been for a very long time. The Jews were discriminated against after they had been persecuted all over Europe for centuries. His two terms of office as Prime Minister of England were marked by excellence in domestic and foreign affairs and, he is esteemed as one of the best Prime Ministers of that great country.
I have no statistics to support my assessment that the number of Belizean/Americans are about 50 to 1 compared to other Belizeans of dual nationality combined. It has been estimated that there are about 200,000 Belizeans Americans, which, together with our resident population of 300,000, brings our total population to half-a-million. Not an insignificant number. We should be thinking of taking advantage of our joint population in different ways, one of which is to regard it as a larger pool for our future leaders to come from. The pool becomes larger when we include Belizeans who are citizens of other countries and, it is possible that our next great leader could come from one of these.
What is to be lost
We will have lost a tradition, that is for sure. We will have lost, also, our sense that having been born in Belize makes us special. That is what every citizen of every country that is a sovereign state believes and, there is nothing wrong with that. There are some people who believe that theirs is the greatest nation on earth, which has nothing to do with size, or power, or resources. There is much that we nationals of Belize have to be proud of and, many of us can’t conceive of the idea of living anywhere else. We prefer Belize to even the great America, where a lot of people would give anything to be allowed to live. Some of our countrymen who have migrated to America have this mindset, but not all. Many are there for what that country has to offer.
Where is home
I like this definition: Home is the place where when you want to go there, they have to let you in. For Belizeans living abroad, that would be the country of their birth, but for many their adopted country is the only home they want to live in. For others, their adopted country is a convenience. They are looking forward to their return home. I think home is the place where you choose to live. It is the place you prefer to everywhere else.
For the ordinary citizen, the duties of citizenship consist of paying your taxes, obeying the law and serving in the armed forces if required. Only a few are interested in serving their country as a political leader.
The citizenship of a person of dual nationality may either be active or non-active. I would say that it is active in respect of the country where you live and work, pay taxes, obey its laws, be available to serve in its armed forces and defence, and non-active in respect of the other country. In the case of Belizeans who have been active citizens of America for many years, I would say that their Belizean citizenship is activated when they return home to live for the rest of their lives.
When someone who has dual citizenship returns home to Belize and takes up his abode with the obvious intention to live here for the rest of his life, pays his taxes, obeys the law and participates in civic activities, should he be denied the privilege of serving his country as a political leader? This question, in my opinion, should be considered and decided by the people of Belize. Our representatives are capable and have the power to decide this, after passing a bill through all its stages but, it is one man’s opinion that the principle of direct democracy, that is, a referendum is the proper way to go.