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First Year Writing Competition
March, 5
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Who or What Is a Good Citizen?
The concept of citizenship traditionally has two meanings: it both implies legal relationships between a person and a country, thus being close to nationality, and defines a normative ideal of the association with a political community and an active participation in it; while analyzing the attributes of ‘a good citizen’, we mostly deal with the latter. Though it is democracy that enables us to fully exploit the capacities of our citizenship by giving us civil, political and social rights, it itself requires responsible citizens for proper functioning of its institutions. However, more and more people these days prefer to abstain from public life and to pursue private interests, and with the growth of passive citizenship, it is worth asking: what does constitute a good citizen? I believe that a good citizen is a person who never makes a choice between private interests and public activities, but the one whose life is balanced between those two, the one who needs to step outside the close circle to fulfill his life-mission, to realize his potential.
In the first place, citizenship is defined by the particular attitude towards the political process. Since ancient times, it was generally accepted that political involvement was a valuable part of one’s life; to exemplify, in 335 B. C. Aristotle wrote that ‘man by nature is a political animal’. Some modern thinkers hold the same opinion: “…political participation is the highest form of human living-together [Adrian Oldfields, 1990]”. What are the implications? Personally, I think that being a good citizen starts with the knowledge of the laws, the assent and the complete submission to them....
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...deals, the link between which forms the actions of the present. On the one hand he subordinates himself, but in no servile sense, to the customs and laws of his city and country…he acknowledges himself as a part of a great whole. But the complete citizen…is zealous for reform, and wishes to see each generation, including his own, reaching a higher stage.”
A citizen is not just a legal status defined by rights and responsibilities but a shared identity, the expression of one’s membership. A good citizen preserves his personal integrity and avoids the conflict of interest: he equally enjoys his private and public life without discontinuity in his character; he sees the latter neither as a burden nor as a platform to pursue his personal projects. To be a good citizen is to believe that you can make a difference for the better.
describing citizenship, its importance in his point of view. So what is considered a strong and
He examines these norms using public opinion surveys and other types of research, one of which proposes that modern day citizens are the “most educated, most cosmopolitan, and most supportive of self-expressive values than any other public in the history of democracy” (Dalton 2008, 2). He suggests there are two types of citizenships – duty-based and engaged (D...
Citizenship is the obligation each member of the NJHS faces to live up to, the democratic ideals given to each and every individual by the founders of their country or beliefs. As good citizens, we are bound to live up to the laws and guidelines of our community and improve not only our lives, but the lives of others. The NJHS strives to help improve the lives of those around us.
Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. Our government does not copy our neighbors', but is an example to them. It is true that we are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few. But while there exists equal justice to all and alike in their private disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized; and when a citizen is in any way distinguished, h...
The ideal citizen would be one that is interested, motivated and discusses issues at hand. However, a great majority of citizens don't make an effort to participate in political affairs or civic duties. Nor do they have the motivation to participate in a political life. Most of the time, an average citizen will adopt the mind set of “it doesn't really matter” or “don't care” (Berlson). For a successful democracy the citizens should also be well informed, follow principals and be rational.
Citizenship is something that largely defines many of us. Our citizenship comes with a community, a group of people and land to which we belong, as well as a sense of pride. Citizens of a community must coexist and cooperate with one another for the community to thrive and prosper. The idea of individuals within a community forming a mutual trust and respect for one another, is a concept Danielle Allen introduces as “political friendship.” Political friendship extends beyond the immediate reaches of one’s community, but to strangers entering one’s own community, or to those of another community with which you seek to enter. It is not friendship in the sense that a bond is formed or that there is deep rooted affection present, but rather one
The inference that it is not vital for the virtuous citizen of the polis to participate in the political activity, is confirmed by Aristotle’s account of the virtues themselves (Mulgan, 1990: 206). Excellence or virtue (arête) is a mean between two extremes which involves finding ‘the midpoint in a circle’ determined by rationality and reason of a given individual (Ethics: 2, 9, 11093a25). According to Aristotle, as humans are capable of philosophical reasoning, in order to attain happiness, the rational individual is required to assess his soul and consult with his rational friends in order to cultivate towards the...
Hundreds of men, women and children came across the ocean to form what became the United States, but now when people do the same thing, they are denied the right of citizenship. Refugees, people exiled from their country for a countless amount of reasons, have been stripped of citizenship from one country and are denied citizenship in another. This goes beyond the United States, but for most countries around the world now. Citizens in the United States see this as completely justifiable, it is their country with their own sets of laws and requirements that need to be understood before accepting new members into their society. These laws and requirements, though, are merely an underlining of the effects of biopoliticized way of
This type of exclusion comes under the political bracket, as it includes the rejection of citizen rights, such as the right to vote, freedom of speech and equal opportunities. Bhalla and Lapeyre (1997) argue that political exclusion ‘involves the notion that the State, which grants basic rights and civil liberties, is not a neutral agency but a vehicle of the dominant classes’, thus, exclude some social groups and include others. However, one must note that citizenship is not only political, as social citizenship refers to ‘the rights and obligations that determine the identity of members of a social and political community and which as a result regulates access to the benefits and privileges of members’ (Turner, 1997). Thus, citizenship is centred on the capacity of using individual and collective rights, and inequalities which can cause a social hierarchy, created of first class and second class citizens. When individuals are made unequal before the they do not have access to public goods, which consequently leads to alienation from society, and lack of opportunities freedom. T H Marshall divided citizenship into three aspects; civil (the right to certain freedoms), political (right to take part in elections) and social (the right to some economic welfare and to ‘share to the full of the social heritage and to live the life of a civilized being accorded to the standards prevailing in the society’(Marshall,1963). Citizenship should be a status enjoyed by the members of a political and social community which is attached to rights and obligations, without these one is excluded from society and isolated from society and oneself. The exclusion of ethnic minorities comes under the bracket of the problem of citizenship. In Britain, the Social Exclusion Unit of the government stated in 2000, that ‘In comparison to their representation in the population, people
The film Do the Right Thing is set in Bedford-Stuyvesant. It begins with Sal, an Italian American, and his sons who run a pizzeria in a neighborhood where minorities live. Mookie, played by Spike Lee, is the pizzeria’s delivery boy who is working on the hottest day of summer which ends up being the same day everyone decides they are fed up with the subtle racism that goes on between races. This separation between races leads to Buggin Out, a frequent customer of the pizzeria, boycotting the establishment because there were no pictures of black people on Sal’s wall. This anger cause Sal and eventually Mookie to explode and react to the situation with violence. Sal’s anger leads to the death of an influential man in the community while Mookie’s anger leads to the destruction of Sal’s shop.
In essence, it would seem that a good citizen prescribes and upholds the constitution of the regime under which he or she serves. However, this can mean very different things depending on the virtuousness of the regime. It becomes increasingly difficult to say that a good citizen must be a good person, or vice-versa. While this can exist, it can only occur in an instance where a person is living to his or her highest virtue under the best (most virtuous regime). In any other case, the it would appear that a rather stark dichotomy can exist between being a good and moral individual and a good citizen. To put this argument into a more modern context, we can look at Nazi Germany during the period of World War Two. A good citizen prescribes to the laws and constitution of the regime under which they preside. Thus, a good citizen of Nazi Germany would participate in the oppression and subjugation of Jews and other minorities. This stands in stark contrast to the cardinal platonic virtues of being a good individual. Conversely, an individual who living under the regime of Nazi Germany might stand out against the atrocities committed by the government, and live in a morally righteous manner. However, this would entail them being a poor
To truly understand why women or why some women continue to accept their second class citizenship status to men, one must become aware of the lived experiences of these women. As Patti Lather suggests, people must be the narrators of their own stories (Critical inquiry in qualitative research: Feminist and poststructural perspectives: Science “after truth”). Until we become aware of these perceived “second class” citizens’ stories, we are only left to postulate based on our own experiences.
Theater 180 addressed the quest question of how do people understand and engage in community life? Through this class I’ve gained a better understanding of what civic engagement is. At the start of this semester I had very minimal knowledge about civic engagement. As far as I knew civic engagement was just volunteering but nothing much beyond that. With this class I have learned that civic engagement is much more than just volunteer work.
Global citizenry is a multi-faceted subject. After all, to truly be a global citizen, one must transcend geographical and political borders, and actually view themself as a citizen of the world. Rather than be confined by the ideals and
People’s lives are changed every day by their actions and experiences. This past summer, I participated in a community service project, an experience that opened my eyes in many ways. I was a volunteer at the County Memorial Hospital. In my time as a volunteer at the hospital, I was able to meet patients and staff members from all over the world and learn about their life experiences. Listening to all of their stories has made me truly appreciate everything which I have.