Respect and Freedom: Imperative Civic Values of an American Citizen

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Imperative Civic Values of an American Citizen This essay is asking a very tough question. It wants to know what I believe is the most essential civic value of being an American. There are many civic values that are essential to being an American such as: Respecting our government, the sense of pride about being an American, Courage, Justice, Integrity, and Freedom. There are several values that stand out, these civic values include: Courage, Justice, Integrity, Respect and the one civic value that stands out the most is freedom. Courage is an essential part of being an American because courage defines the United States of America. US citizens have the courage to stand up for what we believe in, and the courage to follow public laws and insist that other people follow them too. Furthermore, even here at Louisiana High School, some students have the courage to resist those individuals who take the “easy way out”, which only leads to more corruption and probably red tape in our social systems. “The Founders displayed courage in issuing the Declaration of Independence, fighting the Revolutionary War, and framing a new form of republican government through the Constitution. (http://www.citizenbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=630)” Another vital civic value that is often understated by many Americans is the fundamental concept of Justice. Daily, most Americans in schools around the United States recite the “Pledge of the Allegiance.” In this Pledge, one of the phrases we take for granted is the phrase,” With liberty and justice, for all.” The online definition of Justice is,” the quality of being just, righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness.” The quality of being Just can refer to many instances in everyday life for Amer... ... middle of paper ... ...ful government taking part. This freedom has allowed our nation to rise to the top over time and become a successful country. Many people who are not from American have stated how wonderful our country is because of the freedom that we posses. An extremely important document to put in force our freedom as Americans is the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights contains 27 amendments, the first ten being the original. The first amendment gives U.S. citizens: freedom of religion, freedom of speech and press, right to assemble, and the right to petition. This essay was asking what most essential values of being an American citizen are. Courage, Justice, Integrity, Respect and Freedom are the most essential civic values of being an American. To have these civic values is an important part of being an American. Every American citizen should put these values into practice.

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