Every so often I pass by the Federal Court building at Cadman Plaza right after the swearing-in ceremonies for a group of new citizens. The crowd – new citizens holding conspicuous envelopes, their loved ones holding cameras and bouquets – lingers outside the courthouse. It’s a moment of jubilation and relief shared by people of countless (former) nationalities, ages and occupations, a babble of languages punctuated by eruptions of laughter, hugs and high-fives. I pass straight through the crowd (my destination lies directly on the other side), and for a moment I’m humbled by this touching spectacle, forced to set aside my cynicism and profound disdain for American patriotism to appreciate the culmination of what must have been, in each case, a long and arduous struggle to attain something which I blithely take for granted.