What Does the Good Citizen Look Like?
A. Introduction
1. Define: Citizen
Good citizens are mindful of and even zealous about the common good. Being a citizen should not be a matter of "I'll get what I can for myself, and I don't care what it costs others". Citizens should be willingly in compliance with the law and should consider it a privilege to take part in the system when appropriate.
Minimal duties
- Voting is a privilege of citizenship but it is not required. This is in contrast to nations like Belgium where citizens can be fined for failing to vote. Still, many citizens continue to vote. Historically, voting rates in presidential elections by eligible citizens hover around the 50% level, although the recent election of Barack Obama in 2008 saw levels rise over 60%. Legal immigrants are sometimes motivated to become citizens for a chance to exercise voting power.
- Civic participation is not required in the United States. There is no requirement to attend town meetings, read newspapers, stay informed about issues, belong to a political party, or write letters; citizens can stay home and do nothing if they choose. One source suggested that a benefit of naturalization is letting immigrants "participate fully in the civic life of the country." However, the general pattern is for most Americans to avoid politics. There is disagreement about whether popular lack of involvement in politics is helpful or harmful. Vanderbilt professor Dana D. Nelson suggests that most Americans merely vote for president every four years, and that's all they do, and she sees this pattern as undemocratic. In her book Bad for Democracy, Nelson argues that declining citizen participation in politics is unhealthy for long term prospects for democracy. Generally, civic participation is almost nonexistent for wide swaths of the American public. One 2009 study found that seven in ten citizens showed "declining civic involvement" nationally, and that citizens of Illinois were "disappointed, frustrated and disillusioned by recent political scandals and the pressures of the recession." However, writers such as Robert D. Kaplan in The Atlantic see benefits to non-involvement; he wrote "the very indifference of most people allows for a calm and healthy political climate." Kaplan elaborated: "Apathy, after all, often means that the political situation is healthy enough to be ignored. The last thing America needs is more voters–particularly badly educated and alienated ones–with a passion for politics." He argued that civic participation, in itself, is not always a sufficient condition to bring good outcomes, and pointed to authoritarian societies such as Singapore which prospered because it had "relative safety from corruption, from breach of contract, from property expropriation, and from bureaucratic inefficiency."
- Military participation is not required in the United States. In 2009, the armed forces were made up of volunteers and contractors. But in the past, such as during World War II, citizens, particularly men, were expected to fight. During the Vietnam War, there was a highly unpopular policy of drafting men. Today, there is a professional paid military, and citizen-soldiers are not needed; Johns Hopkins political scientist Ginsberg wrote "the professional military has limited the need for citizen soldiers." It is possible, however, that in future conflicts, citizens will be required to participate in the military.
- Obeying laws is generally not considered as a duty of citizenship. Like paying taxes, people must obey laws whether they're citizens or non-citizens and if caught may be punished regardless of citizenship status. In some instances, people convicted of breaking laws have been stripped of citizenship. Breaking a law is more dangerous for non-citizens or illegal aliens, since there are fewer protections in the courts; accused felons have more difficulty applying for citizenship at a later time. And if convicted, illegal aliens face a much harsher prison environment, according to writer Tom Barry in the Boston Review. Barry suggests there is a crackdown in 2009 against illegal immigrants in which hundreds of thousands are detained in a "profit-driven public-private-prison complex."
- Jury duty was a duty of citizenship. Up until fairly recently, when a trial happened, citizens were asked to serve as jurors to listen to opposing arguments, and render a verdict. It was an important lesson in thinking and law, and gave people a chance to participate in the justice system. Today, however, there are indications jury duty is declining; there are fewer trials. Newspaper reports have chronicled the decline of juries, and noted how many people don't get summonses, and how Americans see jury duty as an "inconvenient" chore. Avoiding jury duty has rarely, if ever, caused a person to lose their citizenship. But only citizens are eligible for jury duty; illegal aliens are exempt.
- Paying taxes is not a duty of citizenship since everybody earning income in the United States, regardless of citizenship status, must pay taxes. Tax avoiders, if caught, may be prosecuted for tax evasion. Further, law requires employers to bypass workers and pay taxes directly, on behalf of the worker, to government; this practice of tax withholding began in 1943 during World War II to spare the government the fuss of hunting and prosecuting tax avoiders, while allowing government to raise income taxes to pay for an expensive war. But this practice undermined the link between voluntary tax compliance and citizenship, according to Amith Shlaes in The New York Times. Benjamin Ginsberg criticized the policy of tax withholding as undermining citizenship: "The withholding tax has made the voluntary component of tax collection much less important," he wrote, and saw it as one factor which had an effect that "Citizens have been marginalized as political actors." The requirement to pay taxes extends to American citizens who travel abroad. The US system is unique in that it taxes Americans wherever they go in the world. Since the United States requires citizens living abroad to file taxes, some Americans renounce their citizenship as a way to cope with the administrative burden of filing complex tax forms. In 2006, one former United States Marine and former resident of California bandoned U.S. citizenship discreetly while living in Switzerland; she had considered various options over 10 years, but finally decided to become an alien. In 2007, 470 Americans renounced their citizenship to move abroad. One estimate was that the numbers of Americans turning in their passports each year for political and economic reasons was small, with the numbers reaching a high of about 2,000 during a Vietnam War-era boom in the 1970s. One lawyer commented that the "administrative costs of being an American and living outside the U.S. have gone up dramatically." In 2003, there were 509 Americans who renounced citizenship. One account suggested that increased "taxation is driving many Americans to turn in their passports." But Congress passed rules to tax assets on so-called tax exiles or renunciators of American citizenship, who abandon US citizenship for tax purposes, as well as tax any heirs or beneficiaries of those people who still live in the territorial United States. According to a tax accountant, "The new rules say, if you leave any of your property to a U.S. person, it will be taxed at the rates for U.S. gift tax," which were 45% in 2008.
B.A good citizen of one’s personal community (choose between family, neighborhood, or school)
1. Kinds of communities where good citizenry needs to be practiced and the duties and responsibilities good citizens have for each community
Residential neighborhood needs good citizenry practiced. The duties and responsibilities good citizens have for neighborhoods include helping to maintain a clean and safe environment for all the residents and paying fees for serving the community.
2. Examples of people who have crossed social boundaries for the good of their communities or for humanity at large.
Martin Luther King helped to make the communities fairer for people with different backgrounds.
3. How can this knowledge make our communities better?
If people can take action to help what they know is unfair, life can be better for the community.
C.A good citizen of one’s nation
1. Social Boundaries such as cliques and discrimination in various
Cliques and discriminations may cause conflict between different groups of people in a community.
2. What does it mean to have a hidden bias?
Hidden bias means when people are discriminated for some reasons but it is not announced openly that they are discriminated.
3. What are biases and behavior that lead to discrimination?
Treating someone differently or not allowing someone to do things that others can do because of that person’s race, gender, family, etc. are biases and behavior that lead to discrimination.
4. How do we learn prejudice?
Social scientists believe children begin to acquire prejudices and stereotypes as toddlers. Many studies have shown that as early as age 3, children pick up terms of racial prejudice without really understanding their significance.
Soon, they begin to form attachments to their own group and develop negative attitudes about other racial or ethnic groups, or the "out-group". Early in life, most children acquire a full set of biases that can be observed in verbal slurs, ethnic jokes and acts of discrimination.
5. The Effects of Prejudice and Stereotypes
Hidden bias has emerged as an important clue to the disparity between public opinion, as expressed by America's creed and social goals, and the amount of discrimination that still exists.
Despite 30 years of equal-rights legislation, levels of poverty, education and success vary widely across races. Discrimination continues in housing and real estate sales, and racial profiling is a common practice, even among ordinary citizens.
Members of minorities continue to report humiliating treatment by store clerks, co-workers and police. While an African American man may dine in a fine restaurant anywhere in America, it can be embarrassing for him to attempt to flag down a taxi after that dinner.
A person who carries the stigma of group membership must be prepared for its debilitating effects.
Studies indicate that African American teenagers are aware they are stigmatized as being intellectually inferior and that they go to school bearing what psychologist Claude Steele has called a "burden of suspicion." Such a burden can affect their attitudes and achievement.
Similarly, studies found that when college women are reminded their group is considered bad at math, their performance may fulfill this prophecy.
These shadows hang over stigmatized people no matter their status or accomplishments. They must remain on guard and bear an additional burden that may affect their self-confidence, performance and aspirations. These stigmas have the potential to rob them of their individuality and debilitate their attempts to break out of stereotypical roles.
6. What You Can Do About Unconscious Stereotypes and Prejudice
Conscious attitudes and beliefs can change.
The negative stereotypes associated with many immigrant groups, for example, have largely disappeared over time. For African-Americans, civil rights laws forced integration and nondiscrimination, which, in turn, helped to change public opinion.
But psychologists have no ready roadmap for undoing such overt and especially hidden stereotypes and prejudices.
D.A good citizen of one’s world
1. Why is an important issue that requires active Global Citizenship?
World peace is an important issue that requires active Global Citizenship and require everyone to work together to achieve.
2. What is Global Warming or Climate Change?
Global Warming or Climate Change is a phenomenon that the world’s temperature is going up gradually because of the pollutions and industrialization caused by human beings. It is hurting the environment for everyone living on the earth.
3. What are some ways people can show good citizenship in stopping Global Warming at the local, national, and global level
People can help with Global Warming by reducing the use of natural resources. Try to waste less gas, electricity, water, etc. People can also help by trying to produce less garbage and try to use more recycled products.
E. Conclusion
The good citizen needs to have positive contribution to the community, the nation, and the world. He should do what is good for everyone and should not discriminate. The world will be a better place if everyone can be good citizens.
