Humanities Journal #5
Bryan Baucom
1. (Points: 5) Using your reading from last week (Thoreau & King) as a jump off point, please think about what a “citizen” is. How would you define a “good citizen” of the United States? How does Thoreau define a good citizen? Would Martin Luther King agree with your definition or with Thoreau's?
A good citizen of the United States can be one who is a generally good person. One who obeys the laws given to them by their government. And one who is honest in their dealings with the government, concerning taxes or anything else that returns money towards government programs. A good citizen is one who is respectful of others beliefs. A good citizen is one who earns their own way and does their own work in the progress of their life. A good citizen is one who is generous toward others and gives of their time to benefit their community. A good citizen is one who doesn’t take their freedoms for granted and doesn’t take them away from others. A good citizen is one who works hard and never gives up. A good citizen is respectful of leaders in the government who they may not completely agree with.
This is my definition of a good citizen. Other’s definitions will most likely differ. However, the point behind this list of qualities that I think every good citizen should have is to point out that most every citizen will most likely not have every one of these qualities. I believe, similar to how Lyndon B. Johnson viewed his dream of the Great Society; a good citizen is something each of us can actively strive for on a daily basis. The Great Society was/is something that always needs work and devotion to become. That is how I view a good citizen, someone always striving to be better.
Each of us will carry several of these qualities whether we devote a lot of our time towards service projects or works hard to provide an honest meal for their family, which makes us a good citizen. However, each of us will not have one of these qualities. That may be that we find it hard to respect a local government official because of their policies or maybe we don’t always grant others the same freedoms we demand for ourselves. These are things we can actively improve on.
A good citizen is also one who is proud to be an American citizen, proud of the steps their country has taken in different aspects. An American citizen is also one who makes the effort to learn about their government and educate themselves on what they may not know about. A bad citizen is one who is angry about programs their country has initiated but has done nothing to learn about it or nothing to voice their opinion about it.
This is most similar to Martin Luther King’s definition of a good citizen as he represented a good citizen in his civil disobedience efforts to make his voice heard against what he didn’t believe in and what he wanted to see changed. He was a proud American, who may not have always respected the leaders in the government, but he was always generous with his time towards his community. He was striving to be a good citizen.
Like King, I am also striving to be a good citizen. Are you?
2. (Points: 5) Explain your personal philosophy regarding your individual rights, freedoms, morality and responsibilities, especially to the law, your community, and country. What responsibilities come with being free? Who decides what these responsibilities are? Do these responsibilities require enforcement? If so, by whom?
Given the freedoms that we so readily enjoy as citizens of the United States, we each have a responsibility to fulfill to the law, our community and our country. Our responsibilities are outlined in the laws of our individual states or regions. For example, in the state of Utah, when we turn sixteen we can obtain a driver’s license. It often states on the top of driver’s tests or speeding tickets that driving is not a right of an American citizen, it is a FREEDOM. With this freedom of driving ourselves, we are also given several responsibilities. We are responsible to drive the correct speed limit, we are responsible to stop when we see a red light, and we are responsible to pay full attention to the road. These laws are put into place for our benefit, mostly for our safety. These responsibilities are decided by our government, for which we voted. The laws of the state do require enforcement, because some (including myself) don’t often see the danger of driving at increased speeds.
However, there are several responsibilities that come with being free that can’t be enforced by local government. The most important of these responsibilities is the responsibility to be respectful of other’s freedoms. Each person in our community enjoys the same freedoms as we do; we each need to recognize that and let them employ those freedoms in any way they wish. A crucial example of this is the right to worship as you choose. We may not have the same beliefs, but religion is something that is central in everyone’s life and we have the responsibility to respect those beliefs.
As we utilize our freedoms, every single one comes with a responsibility. Like previously stated, these responsibilities can be summed up in one word: respect. Respect for others, respect for your government, respect for the community, respect for yourself and respect for your county.
3. (Points: 5) What is your belief with regard to the (U.S.) role in the world today and in the years to come? Do you believe that the U.S. has a responsibility, as a nation founded on the principles of freedom, justice, democracy and tolerance, to promote and protect these values around the world? Why or why not? Do we have enough resources to keep the world safe? Is it our responsibility to make every effort to bring peace to other countries? What if they ask us for help?
The United States has a large role in the world today and possibly an even larger role in the years to come. As one of the most stable countries and one with the largest foundation and the most complete government, the United States should offer ever resource it has to benefit the surrounding countries to provide a stable world.
The United States was founded by a group of men who saw a need for change and fought for the freedom that we have been granted from being born as citizens. The first United States citizens experienced what it was like to not have their own freedom and to be controlled by their government. Luckily, as an American citizen, I have never had these freedoms taken away from me at any point in my life. However, several countries and populations around the world have never felt of this freedom and never been able to make their own decisions. Also, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, have never experienced the full stomach that too often Americans feel. They are deprived of food and clean water, which should be a right for every citizen of the world.
As a country who has these benefits and who knows how great life can be with these freedoms and an over abundant source of food, we should extend these privileges towards the rest of the world and allow them to live how we, so luckily, are able to live.
It is vital for America to promote the rights and civil liberties we so readily enjoy around the world because of the terrible things that other nations encounter. From being controlled by their government, to being abused by their leaders, or not being able to worship how they wish; or worse, being killed because of different beliefs or a “wrong” behavior, America needs to stand up to this abuse and ridiculous behavior. The United States should do everything it can to protect the citizens of the world from being harassed and abused.
However, there is such a thing as “tough love.” I completely believe in what I previously stated that America should use all of its resources to benefit others and help other nations become a stable and free country. This is where the big “but” comes in. America needs to HELP but American cannot DO everything for these countries. Each of us has heard the short story of how you can GIVE a man a fish and he will have food for one day, but if you TEACH a man how to fish, he will be fed for life. This is exactly the way the United States should respond towards the countries that need help. We should do everything we can to TEACH them how to set up their government and their each individual Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights for each of their citizens. We should TEACH them how to build the houses and office buildings they need to be successful. We should TEACH them how to be tolerant of others and to respect other religions. In each of the aspects that the United States is so steadily built upon are the aspects that we should be teaching, but not doing and not enforcing on our own, to the countries that need it most.
The United States is a great example of a country to look up to and strive to be like. Though we have our problems, from childhood obesity to political problems, all-in-all the United States is a very firmly grounded country that will continue to offer freedom for each and every citizen. This is something that each and every other country can and should enjoy as well.
