Fresh Starts

An oath ceremony, an emotional judge, and the oldest promise this country makes

Hi friends,

Bring tissues to a naturalization ceremony... Trust me.

We were there for our friend Neurent, who came from Albania and left the courtroom an American. But the morning was for all of the new citizens in that Brooklyn courthouse, and all the family members who waited outside to wrap them in hugs, crying and beaming, so damn happy and proud.

Judge James R. Cho had sworn in many new citizens, maybe hundreds or thousands, and he still choked up. He said his parents arrived in the U.S. from South Korea in the 1950s with $200. Now he stands in a robe, welcoming people to the country that welcomed his parents. How neat is that?

The ritual is older than any of us. In 1911, Theodore Roosevelt stood in a Brooklyn courtroom and spoke at a ceremony similar to this one. More than a century later, the room still fills up, the oath still gets read, and people still cry.

Congratulations, Neurent!

(Neurent, who has worked as a pasta chef in Florence, Italy, is next to me - second from right in the photo below.)

Even the judge told us he brings his own box of tissues to these ceremonies.

"What makes our country so special," he said, choking up, "is the diversity of its people."

We hear seemingly every day how divided this country is, but a week or so after the U.S. turned 250, in a courtroom in Brooklyn, none of that division was in the air. There was something akin to a soft buzz. For a moment, nobody there was red or blue. There were no state lines. They were Albanian, Chinese, Ecuadorian, African, and then, a few words later, they were American, too.

It was all about people from 23 countries starting anew. The rest of us were fortunate enough to watch.

Here's to Neurent, to new beginnings, and to fresh starts.

Celebrate your people,

Matthew