Does citizenship make any difference?

What is a citizen’s pledge to be loyal to a country, to protect a country when one becomes a citizen of a country? A citizen of a country, by virtue of birth or choice, by immigration, is supposed to be loyal to that country, to defend that country if it goes to war. What are the official definitions to tell you what a citizen should be? Oxford’s definition, a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized, nothing about defending the country and dying for the country. But would a citizen do that?  Another definition, a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection. This one said owes allegiance to its govt and is entitled to protection, not the other way round.  How about this one, person who is entitled to enjoy all the legal rights and privileges granted by a state to the people comprising its constituency?

In all the above definitions, I am hard put to find one that says a citizen must fight and defend the country, be loyal to a country. But it seems that these are expected, a kind of assumption by the populace. And what it quite clear is that a citizen becomes part of the country he took up citizenship with. He belongs to the country and can claim or should claim that this is my country. Legally this must be the case. Mentally as well. In reality this may not be.

In the case of Omar Mateen, yes he is a US citizen. The USA is supposed to be his country and presumably he must have said his pledge like Singaporeans do, to uphold the country’s constitution or whatever. The funny thing is that Omar Mateen told the 911 officers that his country is Afghanistan. No, he did not say it in that way, that my country is Afghanistan or Afghanistan is my country. Neither did he say the USA is his country although he is a US citizen legally.

He told the 911 officers to tell America not to bomb his country. He is an American citizen but his country…America or Afghanistan? What can we make out of this? A new citizen taking up citizenship and still calling his country of origin his country, not the USA as his country.

What lesson can we learn from this when there is probably a million new citizens taking up Singapore citizenship here, with the new citizens saying our national pledge? Would they call their country of origin their country and not Singapore? Would Singapore be just a convenient place to make a living and all the time their countries would be their countries of origin, like Omar Mateen?

Would a citizenship be just a piece of paper? Would a national pledge be just, yes, an inspiration, nothing to be serious about, meaning nothing. How many of the new citizens here would think in the same way as Omar Mateen?

Would citizenship change anything? Omar Mateen is a US citizen and must behave like an American and must call the USA his country not Afghanistan? If he called Afghanistan his country then it is wrong. Wrong? So what is right, what is real?