Local farm manager Ben Schmitt isn’t your typical American. He wasn’t born in the States. Like almost one million people each year, he had to earn the right to call himself an American.Schmitt, along with 30 others from 11 countries, completed the long arduous task of becoming naturalized citizens Sept. 17 when they swore oaths, pledging their allegiance to America, in a Taylor County federal courtroom in Abilene.“All my kids are American. I always wanted to be an American. It is worth something. To be free and stand up for something,” Schmitt said.U.S. Magistrate Judge John Parker administered the oath.It ...