This hardly seems fair:
A study hint for immigrants preparing to take the citizenship test in 2008: Stop worrying so much about names and dates and start thinking conceptually about what it means to be an American.
The U.S. government announced Thursday that it was redesigning the test to put less emphasis on memorizing facts and more weight on understanding the nation's history and government.
"Our goal is to inspire immigrants to learn about the civic values of this nation so that after they take the oath of citizenship they will participate fully in our great democracy,"said Emilio Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
How many native-born Americans know or care about the "civic values" of this nation? This new test means that, in 2008, if you meet someone the street and ask him what the meaning of America is, and get a good answer, you will be talking to one of the 800,000 immigrants who come here legally each year. An illegal immigrant would say, "This is where the money is," and a U.S.-born citizen would just stare at you blankly.
