American Citizen

"Only the traveller who stops at the point is totally wrong; and the traveller only too often does stop at that point. He has found something to make him laugh, and he will not suffer it to make him think. And the remedy is not to unsay what he has said, not even, so to speak, to unlash what he has laughed, not to deny that there something unique and curious about the American inquisition into our abstract opinions, but rather to continue the train of thought, and follow the admirable advice of Mr. H.G. Wells, who said ' it is not much good thinking of a thing unless you think it out'. It is not to deny the American officialism is rather peculiar on this point, but to inquire what it really is which makes America peculiar, or which is peculiar to America. In short, it is to get some ultimate idea of what America_is_; and the answer to that question will reveal something much deeper and grander and more worthy of our intelligent interest. 

What G.K. Chesterton mean by this paragraph in his essay "_What is America?_" is that the person that is hit with this reality when they come to America and they shut it out, is wrong. But usually the person does continue to think and draws this conclusion about America. When they are brought to light, they can't un-think what they realized, they can't go back to the dark. The facts are too intriguing and sometimes shocking to an outsider. So when they are hit with this reality of what it means to be an American, they have really think it out to understand it, and know what it means. Ultimately it gives them this picture of what America is and it may seem belittling or offensive to them; The fact that America won't let just anyone come into this country or just anyone become a citizen. The person has to believe in the beliefs of America, believe and abide by the rules and by the constitution and only then can they live in America.

This paragraph was important to me because I am not a born U.S. citizen. I wasn't born in America and when i became a citizen it was a different process for me because i was very young and i didn't have to take any test i just became a citizen because my mother was already an American citizen. For me it wasn't a mind-blowing experience but for some people it is They are leaving a piece of themselves behind in their country and they come here and become citizens and don't really give much thought to the meaning behind it. Chesterton wasn't most people and when he realized they were basically saying forget what ever you know back home, you are coming here you have to abide by these rules to become and remain an American citizen. Are you ready for that? They test this by making you fill out these papers with these question and giving an exam about the history of America to make sure you know what it means to become an American.