Understanding World Citizenship

I have always thought of the word citizen in terms of the formal definition: a legal resident of a city, state, or nation. For example, the first thing that pops into my head when thinking of this word is that I am an American citizen. As a result of this specific definition the term world citizen did not mean much to me. Today’s lecture really broadened my mind to a better and broader definition of citizen. Now I feel I can better explain the term world citizen to anyone who will listen.

In lecture today I learned that we can think of the word citizen as someone who has rights and with those rights a great deal responsibility. For instance, a citizen of a state or a nation has the right to vote. However, with this right comes the responsibility to vote and to obey your nation’s laws. Similar to a national citizen a citizen of the world has rights and responsibilities as well. A world citizen is given the right to enjoy this planet in all its greatness, but also the responsibility to protect it in order to keep it so great.

If everyone thought of not only their country, but also the whole planet in this way a lot of our current problems could be avoided. Factory owners in the United States have the responsibility of making sure their factories do not pollute the local air. However, instead of making their factories cleaner, they often move the entire factory to another country where they, for some odd reason, feel they hold this right without any of the responsibilities connected to it. In turn, a different country is polluted, but this planet is polluted in the same way. Everyone eventually ends up sharing this pollution as it migrates with the wind. Although, the mindset of individual nations works in a way, it is harmful in others, because we share our planet’s environment. By changing our mindset to that of a world citizen we all have the responsibility to protect this planet and therefore the lasting ability to enjoy it.

Earth Days - White House Solar Water Heaters

There was one part in the film Earth Days, a documentary about the creation of Earth Day, that struck me more than anything else in the film. In 1979 President Jimmy Carter took a huge step forward and had solar water heaters installed on the White House roof. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan had them removed. President Carter was actually very advanced for his time in terms of the environmental movement. He understood that the United States could not always rely on fossil fuels to meet their energy needs. At the time gas had gone from under ten dollars a barrel to over $30, changing the way a lot of people thought about energy resources. Carter believed this energy crisis did not have a quick fix. He knew it would take a long time and they needed to start researching renewable energy immediately or the problem would become increasingly worse into the next century. Besides installing solar panels at the White House to address this change the president began the Federal Solar Energy Institute who’s budget was doubled every year Carter was in office. They were well on their way to Carter’s goal for the United States to get at least 20% of its energy from renewables by 2000. However, as is obvious now, this goal has not been reached. Carter’s main downfall was his belief that Americans needed to decrease their standard of living by cutting down their energy use in order to solve the problem. Although this may be true, the majority of Americans did not want to hear this. The idea of lowering their standard of living felt like they were losing all the progress they had made in the last few decades. Besides when used to taking hot showers every morning it is horrifying to think of that right being taken away. I think a similar struggle is going on in many American hearts today. When Reagan began campaigning and told past Americans that this change in lifestyle was not necessary it was exactly what everyone wanted to hear. After Reagan was elected he cut the Federal Solar Energy Institute’s budget by 80% and fired half of workers and all contractors. He also, as we already know, had the White House’s solar heaters taken down, just to make a point. Electing a certain president makes a huge difference in the future of this country. How much less reliable on fossil fuels would we be if Jimmy Carter remained president for another term? Would the Bush’s have felt so inclined to instigate the wars in Iraq if the U.S. could supply our own energy? It is amazing how much influence this one decision has had on the United States.

President Obama and the Oppression of the Congolese

It is difficult to put into words the significance of America electing its first black president. From the northern victory of the U.S. civil war to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “sick and tired” speech, this country has worked endlessly to achieve equal rights for all. We still have a long way to go, but our current president is truly the greatest symbol of how far we have come. However, what does the rest of the world see in Barack Obama? Why do they value the U.S. election of a black president as much if not more than we do? Why was he awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after such a short time serving as president? While I still do not know the full answer to these questions, I feel that I have a much better idea after learning about the relationship between the U.S. and the horrifying oppression of the Congo.

In the past few weeks I have learned everything I know now about U.S. foreign policy with the Congo. When the Democratic Republic of Congo (DROC) was finally granted independence after almost a hundred years of oppression from “King” Leopold and Belgium, my own country’s government did everything it could to keep this independence from benefiting any native Congolese. This included encouraging the assassination of the first democratically elected prime minister and setting up the rule for the next corrupt leader. Our county’s leaders were more than willing to sacrifice the livelihood of all of the Congolese in order to keep receiving cheap minerals from the Congo. A very disgusting part of the movie for me was during the meeting of George Bush Sr. and Mobutu. It seemed like a publicity stunt. As if they were trying to convince the American public of what good deeds we are doing in the Congo by showing the great relationship between our president and Congo’s leader. What Americans didn’t know was that many Congolese hated their selfish corrupt leader.

Although, I know just because a person is black does not mean that as a black person, he or she would disapprove of the treatment of the Congolese people (After all, Mubutu was not only black, but also a native to the Congo.), in the case of President Obama it does mean that he absolutely disapproves. He believes in equal civil rights. Although his beliefs would be just as strong to him no matter his appearance, I think his race is a huge encouraging symbol for the rest of the world. What it shows is how far we have come and how far we can go. In the future I hope it means no U.S. participation in the oppression of innocent people. I believe that is what the rest of the world is hoping and expecting as well.

The Power of Young People

It is really inspiring to me that in the 1970s American university students were a huge part of ending Apartheid in South Africa. It took a long time and much effort, but their divestment campaign in the end achieved what it was meant to do. Universities ended their investments in the corporations helping out South Africa. This caused South Africa’s corrupt white minority government to lose a lot of money, and they were forced to let black natives have the rights they deserve. This could not have been done with out my country’s university students. People my age and slightly older were largely responsible for giving a whole country of people back their freedom.

In the United States young adults are often very underestimated. However, if young adults in the 1970s could make such a difference, young adults today are capable of just as much. Growing up we learn about historically important people, who often are not only much older than us, but just plain old. When stories of important young people in our history are not often told, it is difficult to imagine anything but an old face behind all of the important events of our world’s history. Then unfortunately, this image is carried over to problems that need to be solved today. It is true that young people have less world experience and are capable of making mistakes, but adults are just as capable. For example, the United States has an immigration problem that is being left up to the older people in the government to solve. However, Arizona has chosen to deal with it in a way that many people including me think is very wrong. I bet young people have much to say about this decision, and that we could probably even think of a solution, if given the opportunity. There are so many things that young people are capable of that if given the right means can accomplishment. I love learning about people my age accomplishing great things, because it is motivation for me to get out there and fight for what is right.