The dictionary and Wikipedia have little useful to say about what one must definitively do to be considered a ‘good’ citizen. But I need lists of duties that are specific, actionable and measurable.
Why? At the end of this project, I want to point what I did to determine how successful I was at becoming a better citizen. I need data to prove that it actually happened.
In my mind, in order to be a better citizen, I need to do something different. Do something more. Or do something better. But what? That’s what I need to find out.
So, my next step was a Google search – ‘What is a good citizen?’
Started looking for details….
When I look up citizenship, I always see “qualities” and “traits” of a good citizen. And while those are nice, they’re not really what I’m looking for. Never do I see a definitive list of Duties or Responsibilities. And even when I do, they are vague, mushy, and likely repetitive or overlapping. And almost always geared at a middle school child, maybe a high school civics student. I have yet to find a detailed listing of the duties and responsibilities of a citizen, American or otherwise, with specific measurable actions outlined.
And if you remove the ubiquitous 1. Vote, 2. Obey laws, and 3. Participate in your community/neighborhood, most of these sources would have very very little to say.
Most what I got was for kids! Most of it resembles this…
Don’t get me wrong. There’s some good stuff here, but it’s a bit too generic and not very action oriented. It’s a little bit too touchy-feely, Sunday-school, ‘be-a-good-person’ kind of advice.
- Volunteer to be active in your community.
- Be honest and trustworthy.
- Follow rules and laws.
- Respect the rights of others.
- Be informed about the world around you.
- Respect the property of others.
- Be compassionate.
- Take responsibility for your actions.
- Be a good neighbor.
- Protect the environment.
Thoughts:
- Volunteer to be active in your community
- How much volunteering is enough?
- Which community? Define community? My “neighborhood”? My block? My section of the city? My city? My state? My ethnicity group(s)? (Black? Native American? Descendent of Wales? College grad? Media/advertising industry? Software industry? Snowboarders? Mountain climbers? Do I have to volunteer in each one?
- Be honest and trustworthy
- Is this truly a duty? I have never heard this from an adult when talking to an adult. I have only heard this espoused as a thing children must adhere to.
- Follow rules and laws
- All laws? I always break the speed limit. Does that immediately disqualify me from being a good citizen?
- What about unjust laws? Do I have to follow those?
- Be informed about the world around you
- How informed?
- What is the “world around you?” What Latvia and Papua New Guinea? Or just my town?
- Be compassionate
- How is being compassionate measured?
- Be a good neighbor
- What does it mean to be a good neighbor? Who are my neighbors? House next door? People in the city next door? The State over? The migrants coming from Central America, Syria or Ukraine?
- Protect the environment
- How much am I responsible for?
This is aimed at school children. It’s not exactly what I’m looking for. I’ll take what I can from this and leave what’s not applicable. That said, it’s certainly given me some things to think about – and to add to my Duty List.
My amended Citizens List of Duties has now grown a few lines bigger. (v 003)
Maybe looking up “what is a good citizen?” might provide more?
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
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