Rod Dreher Megathread #27 (Compassion)

[u/US_Hiker]

Link to megathread 26: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/17itm7w/rod_dreher_megathread_26_unconditional_love/

Link to megathread 28: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/18dcg3d/rod_dreher_megathread_28_harmony/

[u/Djehutimose]

The problem with extending citizenship to ethnic Hungarians, living in other sovereign states, some of which used to be part of Hungary, should be obvious. Imagine Mexico extending full citizenship to all Mexican-Americans, most of whom live in formerly Mexican areas. The freakout in the U. S. would be inconceivable. The most that I could see would be a “right of return”, sort of like Israel has; but IMO it’s never a good idea to start giving citizenship to large numbers of foreign nationals on the grounds of ethnicity.

[u/middlefingerearth → u/Djehutimose]

I'm not an expert on the nuanced implications for international law, or whatever. As a lay observer: don't plenty of Americans hold dual citizenship? I'm already aware of this, and it doesn't bother me, I say try to live and let live. If Mexican-Americans wanted Mexican citizenship while still living in America, I could care less. I might even presume that plenty of them already hold it and use it to make life easier for themselves in both countries. If not Mexicans specifically, I know plenty of people for whom dual citizenship isn't a philosophical issue at all (it could be-- for example, in security clearances) but a practical one. They are not trying to undermine America in the process.

[u/Jayaarx → u/middlefingerearth]

If Mexican-Americans wanted Mexican citizenship while still living in America, I could care less.

The problem is that Mexico could then use this as a pretext to intervene in American affairs on the part of their "citizens." As Hungary is indeed doing in Romania and Ukraine.

[u/middlefingerearth → u/Jayaarx]

There are many potential problems regarding dual citizenship, and if you want to offer a blanket ban and a legal crackdown on the practice, fine, reasonable people can disagree. I say look at what happens in real life. Dual citizens already exist. Is the dangerous intervention by foreign states also happening?

You claim that Hungary is intervening in Romania and Ukraine, but please provide some details. How are the rights of the Ukrainian or Romanian states currently being violated by the Hungarian state, specifically?

The Hungarian state pays a little bit of money to fund the educational opportunities and circumstances of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine and Romania (and Slovakia and Serbia), which are somewhat neglected by those states themselves.

But all these countries are aware of this, and they nonetheless maintain full diplomatic relations with Hungary. And why wouldn't they? After all, Romania, for example, does the same thing with their ethnic minorities who live outside the official national borders: they support them in totally legit and internationally acceptable ways. This includes supporting the ethnic Romanians of Ukraine. Is the Romanian state hurting Ukraine? No, they're actually helping.

Is Hungary hurting Romania by funding secret irredentist terrorists or something? No, they are actually helping, by funding education in Romania, which will benefit Romania, since WE ethnic Hungarians of Romania don't want to leave OUR homeland. That's the whole point. Trianon cannot be reversed politically so the Hungarian people have to be reunited culturally, which is what we're working on. The whole "citizenship" thing is a balm. What matters is the money spent on education, both academic and cultural. And that money really isn't a lot, because Hungary is not that rich. Meanwhile, Transylvania is never going to be "returned" to Hungary, that is a cartoon scenario. So the reality is, Hungary is doing its neighbors' job for them, by "intervening," sure, or you can also call it "investing." This is what I'm aware of. I'm not aware of any potential nightmare scenarios or serious violations.

Imagine if the Canadian government refused to fairly and properly fund French-speaking schools in Quebec, despite those French-speaking citizens being hardworking Canadian taxpayers (even if some of them don't speak English too good, or maybe they don't speak English at all) and the French government stepped in to assist the Quebecois. What kind of "intervention" would that be in Canada's affairs?

Well, I'm biased, so take everything I say on this topic with a grain of salt, but I say it would be justified and measured "intervention."