before i get on with my first article, i wanted to mention that i've been doing quite a bit of reading here on ju since i joined. i've made a few comments here and there, but i decided to lay low and get a feel for the general atmosphere here prior to jumping in with both feet. i must say, i am impressed and i applaud the majority of you...the constructive, well deliberated thought being expressed here far outweighs the spewing, bashing, name calling and cutting down (a definite plus in my book), of other places i've been. perhaps a lot of you migrated from other sites whose overall ambiance was the opposite of ju?? there are a few things i hope to do here...to make some friends; have productive (not destructive) discussion; listen and hopefully, learn from what other's have to say; and to express my own feelings, thoughts, and opinions.
anyhoo...
i've been following the discussion that was prompted by DNCdude's article, "Dems.in O6?" somewhere today we got to a point that i'd like to expand on. since the whole issue came up, i myself have mused over the idea of non-natural born citizens being able to run for the office of U.S. president. should this be changed? from one of DNCdude's inserts...
"Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) - Under the current rules, Arnold would not be allowed to hold the office of President because he was not born in the United States. But no one should let a petty thing like the Constitution get in their way. A group called www.OperationArnold.com is working to get Congress to change the highest law of the land, all for Arnold."
so, i'm curious...where do people stand on the subject of changing the constitution, that would allow people with circumstances similar to Arnold’s, the possibility of residing in the office of the U.S. president? i must admit, my immediate feelings are mixed. on one hand i believe that being a natural born citizen of the U.S. and thus being able to run for president, is kinda like the idea of baptism and original sin for Christians (i'm not sure if anyone else will see the correlation...which might make this whole train of thought a bunch of psycho-babble ). however, and while trying to avoid a huge religious discussion...just like many people who convert religiously, many people become U.S. citizens. is this enough? if a person's conviction about becoming a citizen of a place they were not born in is so great, does that lend them the worthiness to run for U.S. president?? BUT, then i think...where was their conviction for their own homeland? why didn't they strive to make positive changes in their place of origin? did they just jump ship?
so, i'll ask again...should the honor of running for or being president of the U.S. be reserved solely for those who are natural born citizens? obviously, the fathers of our country felt it was important enough that we have protected this practice for centuries. BUT, does that make it right? i just don't know.