"it's ridiculous that I have lived here for over 4 years and paid hundreds of thousands in taxes but do not have any way to influence the democratic process"
really? what about the reverse? Can I easily become a citizen of your country if I moved and worked there for 4 years? Most countries don't even have options for immigrants to become true naturalized citizens of that country, in this regard, America is actually pretty progressive.
Off the top of my head, Australia, new zealand, Canada, uk & Germany are all shorter(# years) and far easier(difficulty of visas, crap you have to put up with) to naturalize/obtain citizenship.
The US is one of the least progressive western countries immigration-wise.
Agreed -- and 4 years isn't considered "that bad" by many of my immigrant friends. I have several who have been in the US nearly a decade and are still waiting.
