Ask HN: Why would some people fight for a country that they emigrated from? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Why would some people fight for a country that they emigrated from?

5 pointsamichail7 comments

If they left their country, then maybe they didn't like it that much? So why would they fight for its survival?

I am in the same position where I emigrated and would not fight for my home country. That said, there are many reasons why someone would.

First of all, not everyone emigrates because of hate for their homeland, many do it for necessity and keep close ties.

Some emigrate to search fortune to one day return.

Some emigrate for love, of people or things.

And even those that in the end emigrate because they didn't like their country might still want to fight, not for the country, but for the people that they love that still live in it.

My grandfather's parents came to work in the mills at Manchester, NH USA. My grandfather was born there in 1904. His parents made some money and went back to Poland.

Soon after WWI he and his friends were riding a motorless German motorcycle down a hill and he broke his leg. He never told his dad because he was afraid he'd be beaten.

My grandfather got involved in the Polish mafia and was involved in a ring that was stealing grain from farmers, in the interwar period he had a choice of going to jail or going to the US (where he had citizenship because he was born here) so he came back to Manchester.

Gus was always proud of being Polish in fact he kept going to a Polish church, stayed involved with Polish organized crime, etc. When my dad wanted permission to marry my mom (a challenge because my dad was French Canadian) he was told that Gus was working at the bar on Sunday at the Polaski club (when bars aren't supposed to be open.) My dad figured he was cleaning the tables but when my dad arrived he found the bar was open, Gus was tending it, and two city aldermen were drinking there.

When WWII came along Gus volunteered to fight (to defend Poland and Europe as a whole) but they rejected him because of his broken leg.

So you can be an immigrant to the US, love the US, love the country you came from, love the immigrant community that you're a part of. It all goes together.

People don't always leave forever, and those that do may still have friends, family and property in their old country. Historically even second or third generation emigrates have volunteered to fight for the country of their parents or grandparents, not because they know or own anything there just due to a sense of national duty.

If you grow up somewhere, the culture of that place stays with you forever. Childhood is the formative time for our personalities, ways of thinking, preferences and much more. The country you grow up in is, for many people, an inseparable part of your identity.

People emigrate for a variety of reasons but I suspect two factors cover the majority of reasons: (1) for better opportunities, and (2) for new experiences. Neither of these reasons mean that you don't like the country you originally resided in. Emigrating usually just means that you believe you can build a better life elsewhere.

There are plenty, my guess is the majority, of expats who still love their homelands but now live and work full time and raise a family in a new adopted land that they also love.

Maybe. Or maybe they just have trouble finding jobs even if they love their country. Maybe they met their partner away from home. Maybe they plan to return. Maybe they think that it's not about where they live, but their identity as persons. Maybe they left to learn a language, or for a career move.

And maybe before judging people telling them that they don't love their country, you should first put youself in their shoes.

To me it's more confusing that there are those who'd immigrate to a country, then abandon it in that country's time of need.

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