With so many interesting examples of citizenship given in class through my classmates’ speeches, I have been considering what individuals should strive for as they attempt to become honorable and exemplary residents among their society.
In an ideal world, the perfect citizen would be a person who upholds respect for their community. They would speak their opinions thoughtfully and carefully; everyone would have concern for their fellow citizens. However, when there is disagreement, the dissenter would not interrupt without hearing the other side finish. They would speak their mind when it is their turn to speak and after they have thought over what the other person’s points meant. Without this step in the rhetorical process, ideas and opinions would come to a complete standstill. Taking time to consider the other side of the argument is perhaps one of the most important aspects of truly becoming involved in conversation and within the community.
Ideal citizens would not be afraid to admit when they are wrong or to come to a compromise. They would put their humility behind the importance of their community’s well being. There would also be no sitting idly by and having no concern for what is going on in the world around them. Everyone would take time to participate in making the community a better place, whether that is through volunteering or rhetorical discussion.
The ideal citizen would take time out of their day to catch up on the news. Being informed is the first step to being civically engaged. This brings out the passions and concerns of individuals. If a person has strong feelings about a particular issue, he or she is more likely to go out and contribute to making the world a better place. However, they cannot find the issues they are passionate about if they do not become informed or have discussions with other citizens.
Your post does an excellent job in addressing what qualities a “perfect” citizen would have; respect, courtesy, and consideration for others, interest in others’ well-being and issues, and selfless contribution to the surrounding community. Certainly, these are the qualities of an utterly selfless person; it seems to be nearly impossible to find a person that embodies these pursuits. However, I don’t think it will ever be possible for this world to adopt these ideal values as a whole society. Unfortunately, it is ingrained in our being to be naturally selfish, seeking how we can better ourselves and our own situations. So we can try to be as selfless as possible toward others, not seeking our own benefit, to change the world as much as we can.
I agree that these are the qualities we should pursue; however, should not our motives also be selfless? Is this even possible? Is it selfless to desire to become, as you say, “honorable and exemplary residents among [one’s own] society”?
I agree wholeheartedly with all the points that you made and again I must compliment your writing style – it is effortless. I believe that in an ideal world the picture that you painted would be an ideal citizen. An ideal society would strive for the idea of a greater good for society more than their own gain or their own pride. If we lived in this perfect world it would be so easy to be a perfect citizen. But the world we live in is not perfect – I wonder it it would ever be possible for a society of this type to be ideal. For some reason I think of he book Anthem when I consider the idea of and ideal society or an ideal citizen. It makes me wonder if this ideal world is really something we want. That could be an interesting question to explore in an extended or a separate piece. But overall, I enjoyed the message that you were conveying and I look forward to your blog next week.
This was a very thought-provoking blog and the description of how a debate should work was very interesting especially in comparison to the debates we have today. The best part of you blog was when you talked the importance of compromise and taking action. To add onto that point I would just say that throughout history inaction in the face of a great problem only perpetuates the issue to even greater depths. Overall, you did a nice job the only thing I would personally add is ideas for how we as a society could move toward the direction of this perfect citizen.