Citiwire.net

Welcome to Citiwire.net! The idea of an increasingly “transnational” world–immigrants engaged in their new American lives, but maintaining strong, daily (even hour-to-hour) contact with their home countries–still prompts me to rub my eyes. But Alvaro Lima, in my column, makes a strong case of the breadth and vitality of the phenomenon. For space reasons I did omit a question–Does constant reference to “back home,” even participation in local election battles there, prevent immigrants from taking an active role in America? Lima’s reply: People active in public life, participating in causes, tend to do so in both the U.S. and their home countries. Those who are inactive, disinterested, tend to have the same attitude in both places. … The Citiwire piece of the week is Jane Holtz Kay’s assessment of the widely-recognized new book, Wrestling With Moses, by Anthony Flint, another of our Associates.