Overview
We are all considered to be citizens of the United States. In a much grander scope citizens of the world. Being a citizen means you belong to a particular civilization. Civilizations consist of social constructs, mores, laws, cultural customs, and national identities. A citizen is a member of said civilization and with membership comes certain obligations and commitments. Especially if one is to reap the benefits of being an active member within a particular civilization. Some philosophers will argue that an individual is a citizen in terms of a particular place and civilization. Others have argued that they are citizens of the world and maintain a cosmopolitan (sometimes spelled Kosmopolitan) view.
Let’s ask about the question of voting and what voting means. Voting is a change mechanism that either creates change or maintains a status quo. Either way does result in cause, effect, and consequence. The decision you make as a citizen, if you vote, will have an effect on generations to come. For decades. Your role as a citizen is to make choices about how you choose to live your life personally (relatively) and socially (ultimately). The personal and social do effect one another and ultimately there is no degree of separation between the two. What then does it mean to be a citizen?
With these thoughts in mind please take a look at the following three links (I have also downloaded a couple of other sources as PDF’s on our Home page if you are interested in further reading on this topic but they are not required reading). Then proceed to answer the following questions:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/citizenship/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/citizenship
https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/philosophy-true-harmony-global-citizenship
Questions for Reflection:
*What is your definition of a citizen?
*What does citizenship mean? What kinds of responsibility do you have, or not have, if you are calling yourself a citizen of a particular civilization? What does it mean to do citizenship?
*Can someone be a citizen of the world or is being a citizen strictly related to one particular place and space? Why or why not?