This week, I had the honor and privilege of photographing one of the naturalization ceremonies at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse downtown. I don't take many things too seriously but I do reserve a high level of respect for the patriotic moments in our country. I wouldn't have spent the last 25 years singing the national anthem if I didn't believe that we lived in a great place and that the men and women who came before me deserve to be honored in some small way for making it a great place. 
An uncertainty seemed to linger in the air early in the morning. The candidates for citizenship filed in one at a time. Conversation was held to a minimum except for the small children that darted through the courtroom now and then. But once everyone took a seat and the ceremony began, excitement began to bubble up in the place. The 64 people representing 33 different countries, stood and, placing their hands on their hearts, they recited the pledge of allegiance. What a moving moment! There were doctors and nurses among them. Janitors and truck drivers. There were stay-at-home moms and students and grandmothers. They came from Vietnam and Greece and Bosnia. And Haiti and India and the Congo. They were brown and black and white skinned people. Tall and short. Fat and thin. Some spoke softly and others were loud and proud. They each held tiny American flags in their hands throughout the ceremony. And afterward, they held up their certificates in front of puffed up chests and they were the perfect picture of America.
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