Citizenship

“The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.” – President Theodore Roosevelt

I thought my notes for a Webelos Den Meeting would make a great blog post...

Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities. Social contract implies that people give up some freedoms to a government in order to maintain social order through the rule of law. We usually associate Thomas Hobbes (1651), John Locke (1689) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) with the modern theory of Social Contract. But the idea was documented in the East (India) in the Mahabharata around 800 BC:

It hath been heard by us that men, in days of old, in consequence of anarchy, met with destruction, devouring one another like stronger fishes devouring the weaker ones in the water. It hath been heard by us that a few amongst them then, assembling together, made certain compacts, saying, "He who becomes harsh in speech, or violent in temper, he who seduces or abducts other people’s wives or robs the wealth that belongs to others, should be cast off by us."

To be a member of society is to accept responsibility for following its rules, along with the threat of punishment for violating them.

In the US, people love to focus upon their Rights and often forget about the rules and responsibilities and duties of citizenship.
Ø paying taxes
Ø serving on a jury
Ø voting
Ø serving in the country's armed forces when called upon
Ø obeying the criminal laws

In ancient Greece, to be truly human, one had to be an active citizen to the community. Aristotle famously expressed: “To take no part in the running of the community's affairs is to be either a beast or a god!” Today Americans want to “take” from the government and forget to "give". As “Active Citizens” we should work towards the betterment of the community through:

Ø economic participation
Ø public service
Ø volunteer work
Ø attending school and becoming educated
Ø recycling
Ø other efforts to improve life for all citizens

Social contracts are formed for the betterment of the governed (not for the benefit of the government or King.) The US Declaration of Independence cites social contract theory:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Despite the high-minded philosophy and theory behind US Independence, eleven years later (1787) when the US Constitution was approved, it listed no Rights for the people. Many States disapproved and the Constitution was ratified only after the addition of the Ten Amendments, our Bill of Rights. These rights include:

Ø (1) freedom to exercise our religion
Ø (1) freedom of speech or of the press
Ø (1) the right of peaceable assembly
Ø (1) the right to petition the Government
Ø (2) right of the People to keep and bear Arms
Ø (3) the right not to be forced to house soldiers
Ø (4) freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Legal Warrants are required.
Ø (5) Rights before the Law like due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination
Ø (5) eminent domain: private property shall not be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Ø (6) Our rights in Court: Trial by jury, rights of the accused, Confrontation Clause, speedy trial, public trial, right to counsel
Ø (7) A right to a trial by jury of our peers
Ø (8) Protection against excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.

Bottom Line

There are three ways to become a US Citizen.

1. Be born in the US (even if your parents are not citizens)
2. Apply for Citizenship and pass the INS Citizenship Test
3. Be awarded Honorary Citizenship by the US Congress. Do you know the six people so honored?
   1 General Lafayette
   2 Winston Churchill,
   3 Raoul Wallenberg
   4 & 5 William Penn & his wife Hannah Callowhill Penn
   6 Mother Teresa