I became a U.S. citizen in September 2010. On September 17, 2010, to be precise. That was 20 years ago. When the morning finally came I'd been on a natural high for weeks, and I can still picture myself yellowbricking my way down to the Court House like a high and giddy Dorothy. The tickling bliss had evolved into hardcore happiness when, three hours later, a teary judge administered the Oath of Allegiance to us. I didn't realize then that Americans can spend a lifetime without ever hearing this dizzying, chest-ballooning oath:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I (...) will support and defend the constitution, and laws, of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance, under civilian direction, when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation, or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
At the end of that year, and for the first time in American history, we freshly naturalized citizens were invited to write a letter to our president to suggest a concrete idea that would, the instructions read, "strengthen our democracy and/or improve the American people's daily lives." If in my virginal yet no less fervent patriotism I could come up with such an idea it would be turned into National Policy and named after me. Imagine having your name carved in history without having to suffer a segregated school or terminate a pregnancy! I was in.
Bless President Barack Obama's soul--our first black president, need I remind you--for picking mine. As you all know the Brenkman Initiative has had a fantastically positive effect on our society, but what you do not know is how much I have grieved the idea that was equally dear to my heart... More on that in a minute, but first, since the much anticipated exhibition of letters of all the implemented ideas since 2010 opens tomorrow at the American Heritage Museum in Washington D.C., I thought I'd use this special anniversary to reflect on the Brenkman Initiative, which, from memory, I'd phrased as follows:
The creation by the White House of a giant international fruit and vegetable garden, say, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory meets Union Square Farmers Market. Starring the world's First Ladies. Location: Guantánamo Bay.
My giant garden idea famously came to fruition (no pun intended) a year later. For its inauguration on June 21, 2011, Michelle Obama, along with 114 of her First Lady counterparts (and a few First Gents) posed smiling, one hand proudly on the hip, the other gripping a shiny shovel. On that beautiful sunny day on Guantánamo Bay our First Lady, with the help of her two daughters, Malia and Sasha, raised the flag on a giant beanstalk designed by Jeff Koons. And so did the world's other First Ladies with their children, as more than a hundred flags were raised on giant beanstalks each designed by an artist of their own country.
The hundreds of colorful fruit and vegetable patches separated by undulating pathways of tiny white pebbles were simply jaw-dropping. Commentators duly noted that only the Olympics had ever offered such an exhilarating spectacle. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's garden à la française stood out, of course, but what the paparazzi were really hoping for was some Page 6-worthy catfight between her and the British First Lady, Samantha Cameron, aka SamCam, whom the Tatler had (ouch) just ranked ahead of Carla on its Best Dressed List... Meanwhile, our Michelle Obama could show off her annoyingly toned arms and Svetlana Medvedeva of Russia her generous cleavage, both hungrily snapped by even the most jaded of star photographers.
And the rest is history. The Kill Packaged Food movement was born. Children begged their parents and teachers to let them plant seeds in any patch or soil within their reach. By 2020 public local gardens outnumbered banks in every state of the union. The step from garden hose to kitchen faucet was made effortlessly as kids were dying to keep playing with water. Look, mommy, all the dirt coming off that tomato! The cool thing was to grow it, cook it, and eat it.
Grown-ups were far from being left unfazed. Dirt became the new black. Everybody wanted to be dirty. A new manicure that faked dirt under the nails was invented. Men and women alike longed for designer aprons. Chanel's black and white creation with angelic Vanessa Paradis' rouge lips blowing a kiss was the biggest hit. Issy Miyake's had to be tied behind the legs chaps-style giving it an incongruous garter look. But the Geisha-does-Vegas thing met with too many shaking heads in Middle America, and it became one of the few failed aprons.
It was an unfortunate falsehood to say (as per the Republicans' claim) that the garden initiative was just a publicity stunt and economic gimmick before the 2012 election. Many industries did benefit at least temporarily, but the health aspect should not be underrated. In 2010 two-thirds of the population was overweight. Obesity was considered epidemic!
I still remember what I would have called my other idea: Citizens, Renew Your Vows! Twenty years ago today I voted for the first time in an American election. I feel the thrill as if it were yesterday. The volunteer at my polling place looked at my Certificate of Naturalization and said how he wished he had "one of those" with his name on it. Why shouldn't native-born Americans, as well as those who automatically slipped into citizenship as minors with their parents' naturalization, all be given a chance to affirm in their own voice the pledge that is de facto taken for granted by the government? I say the social contract should be overt not merely implicit. Noisy not silent. It was a strange irony that I, originally a French citizen, was honored by a representative of the United States in a way that others, including the judge herself, aren't allowed to experience!
I wish I myself could renew my vows today. Since no one is a second-class citizen in American democracy we all deserve a beautiful ceremony to reflect on what it means and how lucky we are to be American. I can only hope that one day such an idea will be implemented thanks to some other freshly naturalized citizen!