La dispora slovacca negli Stati Uniti è stimata in circa 2 milioni di persone. Molti chiedono la cittadinanza per discendenza. La Slovacchia dovrebbe fare di più per attirare gli americani a emigrare?

Yea, picture is from Prag, that’s in Czech Republic, different country.

EDIT: I know now that it’s an article, not a picture. My bad.

I think it’s worth mentioning that identity is looked upon in quite a different way here in Europe, than it is in the US. To a Slovak, or any european basically, if you have lived your entire life in the US, do not speak any other language that english and you do not know any of the slovak specific culture, you are an american. It does not matter that your grandparents came from Slovakia, if you do not know what sojovy suk is, you don’t know what is ‘A je to!’ is, you have never heard anything from Horkyze Slize and you don’t get the ‘highway to Kosice’ jokes, you are simply not slovak.

This is not meant in any malicious way and i don’t want it to sound like gatekeeping a nationality, but I think that here in Europe, where there are so many nations on such a small territory (compared to the US), nationality is mostly a cultural thing, not something that is inherited by blood and it just exists without any engagement with it. It’s just that the definition of these things differ. US is a country of immigrants and basically everyone has their roots in some country out there in the world. The us people see this as a base of their own cultural identity (which is totally fine), but it doesn’t work like this here and I have seen many americans being confused/disapointed by it once they found out. Just saying it out loud.

Speaking of which, I have absolutely zero problems with someone that has roots here obtaining a citizenship, why the hell not if they feel like it. The only thing where I would put my foot down is that there should be some sort of limitation when it comes to the right to vote – something like you need to live in the country for at least X years before being able to vote as someone who was not born here and never lived here before. Our polish friends have quite a problem with the same thing, as the polish americans keep on voting for the worst possible people out there, effectively helping to fuck up a country they dont even live in.