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.
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I have recently also expanded my mind on what a world citizen means. Until this class I am not sure if I have ever really heard the term or discussed what it means to be one. I believe if United States citizen's thought of themselves in this way other countries wouldn't have to suffer from our stupidity. It is true we end up sharing pollution. I believe many Americans don't understand how this because of ignorance and we aren't as heavily impacted yet like other countries where we use up their resources. Soon enough if our ways don't change more Americans will see the effects of global pollution.
ReplyDeleteUntil I began really examining and teaching about colonization and how colonial subjects were denied all rights under the law, I too saw citizenship as merely a residential distinction that had few implications other than establishing one’s national identity. It was a fairly profound realization to learn that for many through the ages and into the present a denial of citizenship was a means of denying people basic human rights -hence Apartheid etc. But it is equally crucial to realize that in a democracy rights are tied to responsibilities and that with the rights of citizenship comes the responsibility to contribute to the governance that maintains an ethical and just society -and then when you broaden your conception of citizenship to encompass the entire globe -boundaries melt away as unfortunate political and social constructs that serve to impede our ability to achieve a more sustainable and just world.
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