THE QUESTIONS:
- Is there a universally accepted List of Duties and Responsibilities of a citizen?
- If no universally accepted list exists, are there competing lists that vary by nation, community or some other distinguishing criteria (type of gov’t, etc.)?
- If there is no such list, why is that?
I decided to do a little research find out. First, I went to the dictionary and looked up the word “citizen ship”.
Merriam-Webster: Definition of Citizen(ship)
Merriam-Webster’s provides us this definition, which as you can see, provides us nothing in the way of rights or responsibilities.
citizenship noun cit·i·zen·ship | \ ˈsi-tə-zən-ˌship also -sən- \
- the status of being a citizen
He was granted U.S. citizenship. - membership in a community (such as a college)
- the quality of an individual’s response to membership in a community
The students are learning the value of good citizenship.
Dictionary.com: Definition of Citizen(ship)
Dictionary.com provides us this, slightly better, definition.
citizenship [ sit-uh-zuhn-ship, -suhn- ]
noun
- the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen.
- the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations, and functions of a citizen:
an award for good citizenship.
Origin: citizen +ship
-ship
- a native English suffix of nouns denoting condition, character, office, skill, etc.:
clerkship; friendship; statesmanship.
Citizen [ sit-uh-zuhn, -suhn ]
noun
- a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien).
- an inhabitant of a city or town, especially one entitled to its privileges or franchises.
- an inhabitant, or denizen:
The deer is a citizen of our woods. - a civilian, as distinguished from a soldier, police officer, etc.
Some key words found in these definitions:
- Rights. Privileges. Protection.
- Duties. Obligations. Allegiance
- Character.
Basically, this is zero help to me. I’ve gotten from this that I have rights I’m entitled to. I also have duties to which I am obligated to carry out. Alas, I have no idea what those are. Actually, I have some idea – but how do I know I’m right? How do I know I haven’t missed or forgotten about some of them? There’s no detail here. There’s no concrete list of actions to take.
The closest thing I have here that resembles an enumerated ‘duty’ is…
- owes allegiance to its (his/her/their) government
Obviously, any list of rights and responsibilities of citizens will vary depending on the nation state, city or community within which one resides. Does that mean there is no “universally accepted” enumeration of rights and duties that qualifies one as “doing their job” as a citizen? Is the definition of a “good citizen” similar to the famous definition of pornography – you know it when you see it?
So far, I have a Citizens List of Duties with a grand total of one!
Let’s keep searching.
Photo by Romain Vignes on Unsplash
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