CARMEL- Twenty-nine residents of Putnam County from 20 countries recited their oath of allegiance to the United States and received a rousing ovation at the historic Putnam Courthouse as new citizens. Since 2015, following a 20-year hiatus, hundreds of newcomers have taken their oaths thanks to the efforts of County Clerk Michael Bartolotti and his staff.
State Supreme Court Judge Victor Grossman officiated over the ceremony congratulating the new citizens for deciding to apply for citizenship: “Each of you is from somewhere else, somewhere less free, somewhere with less opportunity. In that respect you are no different than all the people who came before you. I have no doubt you looked to dreams of the future for yourselves, your family and your children rather than the experience of the past.”
Grossman called on the new citizens to “build on that history, not reject it. You need not abandon your traditions and culture in which you were raised, but instead bring it with you and incorporate those traditions into the new lives you are building for yourselves. Share it with your neighbors and don’t be surprised when they do the same. Don’t think for one minute that pizza was invented in America; we cannot even take credit for the “hot dog” but the city of Frankfurt in Germany will do so. Don’t get me started on beer or
wine but we can take credit for Bourbon from Kentucky,” he said with a smile.
The judge also reminded the naturalized citizens: “Your choice of greater freedom carries with it great civic responsibility. In our republic you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-giving and law-abiding. This power may be new to some of you and different from what you previously experienced, but it is the duty of each of you as new citizens to take a role in public affairs. The first step is to register to vote.”
Grossman also explained that our “Founding Fathers understood that Democracy was not a spectator sport. They were Framers of our Republic; revolutionaries who believed in self-government and they were not afraid to challenge a powerful majority. Silence is not an option if our nation’s principles are to survive. In the 251 years since the first shots were fired in Lexington, the voices of democracy have moved our nation forward to “a more perfect Union” in the words of the Preamble to the Constitution. Those voices came from many people and many places just like you; they have been coming year after year, decade after decade, and century after century. They will continue to come as long as you and others like you continue to be heard.”
Putnam’s newest citizens emigrated from Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, India, Jordon,
Kosovo, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Turkey, the Ukraine and Yugoslavia.
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