Lietuvoje buvo ir yra kalbama tik apie DVIGUBOS PILIETYBĖS principą, kuris LR Konstitucijoje, išskyrus numatytus „atskirus atvejus“, yra  draudžiamas. Tačiau juk Lietuvos Konstitucija teigia, jog LR pilietybė įgyjama gimstant ir kad žmogaus teisės yra prigimtinės. Užsienio lietuviai tiki, jog jų pilietybės teisė yra prigimtinė. Štai kodėl, diskusija pirmiausia turėtų būti apie užsienio lietuvių PRIGIMTINĖS PILIETYBĖS TEISĖS atėmimą, o ne apie dvigubos pilietybės suteikimą.

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Via lietuviams.com, I read an article in Delfi by Eglė Digrytė about the recent surge in “non-Lithuanian” names among children of Lithuanian emigrants in the UK. The lede is worth reproducing in full:

Shakyra, Lee, Leya, Sameeras, Adnan, Radu, Kvinta, Younas… Tai – ne muzikos ar kino žvaigždžių vardai. Taip savo atžalas šaukia Didžiojoje Britanijoje įsikūrę naujosios bangos išeiviai. Todėl mūsų šalies ambasada pradėjo raginti juos mažyliams duoti lietuviškus vardus.

I’ll be getting back to this troubling paragraph later in this post. In any case, Digrytė worries that UK Lithuanians have started competing among themselves for who can have the most exotic name. Or they borrow names from stars, or, ultimately, she writes, they choose such unfamiliar names that guessing the gender of the child becomes difficult. (!)

In steps the Lithuanian Embassy in London, with their promotion “Mano vardas LIETUVIŠKAS!,” which encourages emigrants to encourage the spread of Lithuanian linguistic traditions without forgetting Lithuanian names. The article concludes with the usual non sequiturs regarding the age of the Lithuanian language, but the conclusion is clear: Lithuanians should be naming their children Lithuanian names, preferably ancient ones (such as “Eglė,” one might surmise).

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[Surely you have probably received an email encouraging you to sign the Bičiulystė e-petition asking the Seimas to grant dual citizenship to NATO member nations and Australia. I think the petition is junk in its reasoning (and in its practice, but that is a different issue). Amerikos lietuvis asked people to write in with their opinions on this petition, and so I did. Then I translated what I wrote into English, and now I am printing the English translation here. The Lithuanian original is available on lietuviams.com.]

When I first heard the news about the recommendation to the Seimas that they not allow US citizens to also be citizens of Lithuania, I immediately guessed the US Lithuanian community would flip the hell out. I knew I'd be reading screed after screed with an LB logo affixed to it.

In fact, I was so on point with my prophecy that I should’ve bought a lottery ticket that same day. On the other hand, maybe it’s best that I didn’t, since one thing I failed to predict was the bizarre turn that the dissatisfaction with the Seimas work group's recommendation would take.

Simply, there are a lot of great reasons why Lithuania should allow US citizens to hold dual citizenship. It would clearly strengthen relationships between both nations, especially financially. We so quickly forget that it was capital provided by the denigrated “first-wave” Lithuanian-Americans that kept the economy of first Lithuanian Republic solvent. So though Lithuania is now in better economic shape, it doesn’t make sense to ignore such a potentially large set of human ATMs. Furthermore, should there be some kind of crisis (terrorist, say) that befalls Lithuania but does not invoke the NATO charter, the presence of many US citizens in Lithuania might encourage the US to take a more active approach in helping defuse (as it were) the tension. Finally, dual citizenship is hardly unprecedented, and Lithuania can boldly incorporate it.

However, among the great reasons for US/Lithuanian dual citizenship, you will not find the reasoning of choice in the Lithuanian-American public sphere: the fact that both the US and Lithuania are in NATO. I don't understand why both PLB chairperson R. Narušienė and the Amerikos lietuvis editorial board have taken this path, especially as it leads to ludicrous attempts at equating NATO with the EU.

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