A defensive democracy is a mission

In my debut novel, "Vatermal," the moment that's probably mentioned most often in reviews and conversations is the moment when the protagonist, Arda, is sitting at the immigration office and, as part of his naturalization process, is required to provide a written statement that he speaks German fluently—even though the official in charge of his case knows that Arda was born in Germany, goes to school here, and is about to graduate from high school. The teenager is quite nervous and quite high in this situation, which isn't a good combination, and so a humorous interlude follows in which Arda ironically confirms all the clichés to the official—in correct German, of course.