Citizenship
As the word implies, a citizen is a member of a city ; but the word has also the wider meaning of a member of a sovereign State. As the American Constitution has it: “All per_ sons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.-is the status of a citizen, with its rights and “Citizenship” duties.
A citizen is the member of a community, whether that community is a city or a great country ; and as such, he has both privileges and duties. For we may think of the community as existing for the sake of its individual members, or, the individual members as existing for the sake of the community. Both views are true and complementary, and should be combined ; and a citizen must recognize that, while the State he belongs to has a duty to him (his privileges), he has an obligation to it (his duties). However, as we are in no danger of forgetting our privileges as citizens, it will be wise to emphasize our duties.
The first obvious duty of a citizen is loyalty to the country of his birth or adoption. As a true patriot, he must be prepared to support and defend his country in a national crisis, even, if necessary, with his life.
Secondly, it is the duty of a citizen to obey his country’s laws. He must have no sympathy with crime, which is a breach of law. He may consider some laws imperfect, unwise or even unjust ; and he may, and should, use all constitutional means in his power, to get such laws reformed or abolished. But so long as a law is a law, be must obey it.
Thirdly, he must do more than keep the law himself ; he must, as occasion arises, actively assist the guardians of the law in the performance of their duty of putting down crime and arresting criminals.
Fourthly, he should take an intelligent interest in politics; for, as a citizen, he has a vote, and he is responsible for using that vote for the good of his country as a whole.
Fifthly, he should be ready, if he has the ability and is called upon to do so, to render active voluntary service to his city or country, by serving on public bodies, such as municipalities or education committees, or even the central legislature.
Lastly, and most important of all, a citizen should strive to develop a good character, for the sake of his country. As Professor Drummond once said: “By far the greatest thing a man can do for his city is to be a good man …. This is the highest contribution any one can make to its salvation. Let the city be a Sodom or a Gomorrah, and if there be but ten righteous men in it, it will be saved.”
