What is Citizenship?

What is Citizenship?

               Voting, paying taxes on time, volunteering for your community, donating for an organization you feel passionate about, recycling, participating in jury duty, obeying the law, or serving in the armed forces are all qualities of a good citizen. But what is citizenship? Citizenship is the status of being a citizen, along along with the rights, duties, and privileges of being a citizen. Every able person in our society has the right to freedom and happiness, but in order to attain such benefits, you are required to fulfill and promote your civic duties as an American. Although that notion in text is simple, sometimes our course for citizenship is difficult. 

              A prime example of satisfying our semaritan obligation is through voting. Every few years people of this country can include themselves in politics and vote for local policies, house representatives, senators, Supreme Court officials, electoral college members, and even the decision to elect the President of the United States. All they have to do is register to vote, find their way to their local precinct and fill out the form. The only problem with that is its not as easily accessible as it is for some. Unfortunately, when election season roles around every year, less and less of the African American and Latino community turn up to vote. It's not that they choose not to vote, it's simply because they are not registered. According to NPR session: "The Cost to take a Ballot," In 1940, a mere 3 percent of voting-age black men and women in the South were registered to vote... and in Mississippi less than 1 percent were registered." Luckily today that amount has since gone up, but unfortunately, still only 30 percent of Blacks can vote. This inevitably leads to a low voter turn out across the country because this group of people make up a large, swaying percentage of potential votes. This year, I am happy to see that there is an expect 45 percent increase in turn out for this primary election with the hopes of making an easier process for registering under policy 3. 

           When we look at what makes a good citizen we are often faced with comparing it to patriotism. When I come to this conclusion I am talking about the anger towards Colin Kaepernick when he decided to take the knee during the national anthem. Thousands of people believed he was disowning his country and discarding his civic rights as a U.S citizen, but to him "the actual point of his protest was to disrupt how we move about our daily lives... I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color" (The Awakening of Colin Kaepernick). In my perspective, I am not saying what he did was completely correct, but in my own opinion of "good" citizenship is when you can see the world as it is and make it better with the tools you have. What Kaepernick did was provide a movement just as Martin Luther King Jr. did for his community when he granted rightful citizenship to those of color. Regardless of how you look at the situation, Kaepernick's intention of change for those who have been victimized of hate is what makes him a true "good" citizen of American society.

         When you think of the qualities that make up citizenship, you think of someone who votes, volunteer, pays taxes on time, participates in fundraisers, recycles, serves in a jury, obeys the law, or even aides to the armed forces.  A good samaritan abides by their civic duties as Americans and with that are able to live a free and happy life. Nevertheless, in becoming or being viewed as a worthy citizen has often proven difficult in our society. Dating back to the 1940's, voting registration has been an on going issue and continues to disregard a large portion of opinion from being heard. When looking at an instance were we determine if Colin Kaepernick is deem rightful, it is up to perspective. In the future, I would like to live in a country where our civic duties are accessible and our movements for change are accepted by all. 

The meaning of U.S. citizenship - Los ...latimes.com