Blog Post 3: Citizenship

Citizenship  
In societies across the world, people may or may not have a choice to take part in their government. Also, the rights of the people living in their respective countries have varying rights and responsibilities to those living elsewhere across the world. These are some characteristics of one who has citizenship in their country. Taking part and having a voice in your government is a key part of being a model citizen and seeing the injustices that your country is not doing anything to fix and taking it into your own hands through peaceful methods is one way to make a change. A major part of citizenship is taking an active role in your society to improve it.  
Voicing out complaints about issues in the government and society and acting against them are what model citizens do. Possibly the most notable example of someone who stood against their societies’ problems is Martin Luther King Jr.. What King did for civil rights in my opinion went above and beyond his role of being a model citizen, changing the opportunities for many in the present time who did not have the same before the civil rights movement. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, King addresses the problems of segregation and police brutality, then explains why he chooses to combat these issues through nonviolent methods, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused is forced to confront the issue” (p.2). King pressured his opposition to take violent action against them to seem like victims and gain public support with himself and the civil rights movement he was pioneering. Overall, Martin Luther King Jr. was a model citizen and worked to increase the rights of what was considered under the umbrella of citizenship. 
In America, people across the nation have a varying amount of how much they participate in their society and government, whether it be actively campaigning for a politician up for office or voting every election to not associating with politics whatsoever. Citizenship and involvement with politics and society, large and small scale, go hand in hand. When I decided to go vote in this year’s election, I thought of it as something new, as it was the first time I ever went to vote and something I decided to do independently. My parents both do not associate themselves politically and not once have I seen them take an interest in politics or ever go out to vote even once. So, when I went to vote today, I believed I was beginning to do something big and important that my parents have never done. I felt that I accomplished my duty as a citizen when I voted and that voting and citizenship go hand in hand.  
Citizenship is truly defined as being a legal citizen in your respective country of residence. But, going beyond to do your duty as a citizen is what I believe makes you an active citizen whose voice will impact the future of the country. Taking part in your society, even if just a little, can represent a bigger change that with along with many others will form the future into one that will be of benefit to the major population. Therefore, if it is possible to have a part in your government and society, everyone should take the opportunity to do their part, as other countries in other parts of the world may not have the same benefit to vote or make a change in their society. 

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