Routine definitions of the word “citizen” include such phrases as a “person who legally belongs to a country and has the rights and protection of that country” and a person “who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it.”
The common point is the transaction — a citizen gives something and gets something, as does the government.
One of those rights that has universally distinguished citizens from noncitizens is the right to vote. Unfortunately, we can now add that distinction to history’s trash heap thanks to the far left’s war on the nation’s culture and legal systems.
The decision by New York’s City Council to allow more than 800,000 noncitizen immigrants to vote in municipal elections is a watershed moment for the left’s goal of erasing standards and merit in American life.
In this case, the compact between rights and responsibilities is severed, with only the rights remaining to the immigrants who are relieved of any responsibilities to the city and the other 8 million inhabitants.
