What It Means To Be An American Citizen

A democratic citizen is an individual that is part of a democratic political system and society which involves having responsibilities and rights like voting, freedom of speech, and to choose the type of government citizens want. In the book “Citizenship”, Bellamy discusses how past definitions of citizenship have molded today’s definition by elaborating on “who is a citizen, the kind of contribution the state and other citizens can expect of him or her”. For example, anticipated qualities in a citizen, in the past, were nationalism and identification with the rest of the community in regards to having the same morals, and principles. In a democracy, citizenship is truly valued when the democratic government fights for total equality and an

Conventional wisdom suggests that most people residing in the United States take their citizenship for granted. The vast majority of modern Americans were born in this country enjoying the benefits of nationality since birth. Citizens vote, use public services, travel with a United States passport, run for civic office, and serve their country without a second thought.

Citizenship means everything in this country. It guarantees a future for families. The rights a citizen has given them a say in government, and access to many services. They have constitutional protections of their unalienable rights, their right to choose their leaders, among other rights. The constitution prevents states from creating laws that infringe on these rights. Persons can become US citizens through birth on US soil, being born to US citizens, or naturalization.

We are all part of some community whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. I consider myself part of the Latin Community. I also consider myself part of my local city townhouse community. I am also part of my work community. Citizenship in the Latin community means proving the stereotypes wrong. I have to contribute to the small percentage of Latino voters, non-criminals, high school, and college graduates. I have to continue to be professional even when people are ignorant and treat me as a minority. Citizenship in my city involves me giving back to that community. Cleaning up my neighborhood and reporting crimes is one way. Respecting local police and not breaking laws. Citizenship in my townhouse community involves participating in board

Three things apply to citizens from a government perspective: rights, rules/laws, and responsibilities. Citizens, both native and naturalized, possess many responsibilities that come from living under a governmental power, and the rights that proceed from it.

What is a citizen and where does she practice her citizenship? These questions cannot be answered unless accompanied by sufficient knowledge of how different types of citizenships are formed and how these citizenships are practiced. There is not one singular type of citizen that permeates the world or even the United States—an intermingled and enmeshed notion of citizenship is acted out through a combination of rights and duties as the citizen attempts to hold onto those values that are most important to them. Chantal Mouffe (1993) proposes a form of citizenship that lies somewhere between liberalism and civic republicanism. Michael Brown (1997) then explores where this radical democratic citizenship is practiced. What we are left

Generations from back then worked hard in order to preserve our rights. The took responsibility in many forms to let the government,and other know that they wanted to see change in the world. That is why, us today can enjoy our luxurious things that we may take from granted, but some of us just do not get the point that we must do things to change an issue instead of complaining that our government is doing us harm. As individuals we must come out and start to participate as a community, and not be afraid to speak out. We must remember that our Rights are protected, and cannot be taken away.

There is many meanings to citizenship and what it means to fulfil citizenship, the major components of citizenship are how you are involved in a community and how you treat the community. My definition of citizenship would be, citizenship is how a person is involved in a community and what people do towards the community. In order to fulfill citizenship you have to be willing to follow laws and regulations within your community. As well, to fulfill citizenship you should be involved in the community. Being involved may be things such as voting for a new mayor, or contributing in community meetings.

The last section focused on how the definition of citizenship is expanded when the author’s Discourse Theory of Citizenship

It also says that a citizen "gives allegiance" to his country and that the country gives the citizen "full civil rights." The Dictionary Library definition adds that a citizen is entitled to rights and that citizenship brings duties. "Citizen" seems to have evolved through the years, from a person who lives in a city to a person who lives in a country and who has rights and duties.

In Democracy, I would define citizenship as the status of being a member in the society who has rights and duties in a particular country. Before taking SW 195, I did not realize that there was a difference in having rights, such as voting, and having certain duties, such as supporting the constitution. Being a citizen of a country, there are many roles that need to be upheld in order to be a “true citizen”. As a citizen, there are multiple different responsibilities that I feel are necessary for being a part of the society. Along with supporting the constitution, other roles as a citizen would range anywhere from obeying laws, respecting the rights of others, staying informed within your community, and serving on a jury or for the country if needed. I feel that no matter what community you belong to, it is important to defend and respect the rights and duties that pair up with being a citizen.

To tackle the term citizenship the perspectives of political theorists Aristotle and Hanna Pitkin come in handy in conceptualizing the term. Such honorable theorists have unique and yet intriguing views of citizenship, types of citizenship and the roles they play in societies. Although both theorists have different views and perspectives, they seem to come to similar conclusion when dissecting the difference between citizenship doing action and citizenship in the form of membership. Thus, the distinction between citizen doing an action and citizen in the form of membership is that: action is a collective process for the betterment of society while membership is living a settled life within the system already constructed.

Historically, citizenship has been associated with the privileges given to a particular member that is involved within a political party or community. Those particular members who held certain statues were able to participate with their fellow citizens in

Within my assignment I will be dealing with citizenship, concepts of societal inclusion and exclusion. I will define citizenship as a person who is legally recognised by a state under the law. However, Bryan Turner (1993:2) best defines citizenship “as that set of practices (juridical, political, economic and cultural) which defines a person as a competent member of a society and which is a consequence shape the flow of resources to persons and social groups”. Citizenship is also a status that entitles an individual to certain rights, privileges and benefits granted by the state.

Citizenship is a concept that is composed of three parts. The first part, described by Jean L Cohen, states that citizenship assumes the citizen ‘a juridical status of legal personhood’ (Cohen, 1999). Each individual is granted a legal status within the country to which they claim citizenship, granting them the political and social rights that the nation state holds. They are obliged to follow the laws set out within that state and therefore they obtain the right to claim the law’s protection. Secondly, this concept describes citizens to have a political responsibility within that country, they are required to vote and to be directly (or indirectly) involved in the decisions made within the nation state. Finally, the concept of citizenship states that it grants the consumer a membership in a community that holds itself to a particular ideal or identity. From this, a definition of a citizen can be derived, a member of a political community who is entitled to the rights and assumes the duties of that particular country. The definition of citizenship can be used to set the parameters of what is required of an individual in order to be a resident. If these parameters are not met, then one could argue that the political community has a right, or even a responsibility, to not allow some citizens into the country.