iCitizenForum by Colonial Williamsburg

Are you a Citizen?

Am I a U.S. citizen?

You are if you were born in the United States, which is the easy way, or if you have been naturalized, which is the hard way.
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The easy way is to have been born in the United States, no matter where your parents were born. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says you are a citizen of the United States and of the state in which you were born. That gives you two levels of legal protection, two levels of democratic participation, and two levels of laws to obey.

The hard way, naturalization, is covered by the same Amendment and gives you the same protections and responsibilities once you are a citizen. Naturalization is a long, legal process with strict rules and processes. You can check what is required at http://www.uscitizenship.info, but it is not easy. Essentially, you are saying you no longer want to be a citizen of where you were born, and you would rather be a citizen of here.

Those are the answers for the United States. Every country has its own rules, and they vary. Some countries do not permit naturalization, others do not recognize naturalization by other countries, still others do not require naturalization. The United Nations recognizes 192 countries of the world, and there are probably that many sets of citizenship rules. (http://www.un.org/News/Press...)

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Are my neighbors citizens?

They are definitely citizens of somewhere, and they probably are or could be citizens of the United States.
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About 92 percent of the people in the United States are either citizens or have met the requirements to apply for citizenship. But about 14 percent of the 300 million people who live here are illegal, and what to do about them, if anything, is a hotly debated legal and political issue, and not just here. In the world today there are about 22 million refuges and unknown millions of migrant workers. Many countries now have to decide who can live legally in those places. Generally speaking, people who are citizens of the poorer countries want to be citizens or at least residents of the richer countries, but they also have the fewest skills to offer their new, would-be homes in return.

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What does it mean to be a citizen?

In a legal sense, being a citizen means that you can go about your business without much interference from the government.
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There is no hard, fast rule that applies to all countries, but in most countries being a citizen means you can live in that country and go about your business with a minimum of governmental interference. At a minimum you have an identity recognized by law and protected by the courts. As long as you obey the laws, you are generally left alone. Specific rights such as the right to own property or marry are legally spelled out, often in great detail. Other duties are imposed by your neighbors and fellow citizens, and a good citizen may need to take part in elections, or help keep the neighborhood clean, or support local schools. But personal feelings and beliefs about citizenship that give the term real meaning are entirely up to you.

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Is there some benefit to being a citizen?

Yes, but the benefits depend not only on the country where you live, but on the state in the United States.
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A citizen in the United States and a few other countries has legal rights to move about and choose freely his or her religion, occupation, place of residence, and family relationships. There is some freedom of education. These are spoken of as human rights or natural rights that apply to all human beings everywhere, but no they don’t. Governments usually protect those rights that exist in the civil law and ignore those that do not. Often totalitarian governments will list an impressive number of civil rights and liberties, but unless the court system upholds them, the impressive list has no meaning.

The services of police, fire, and medical facilities are useful benefits where they exist. In the United States, there is no right to health care, but there is a right to your day in court when accused of a crime and equal protection of the law no matter your race, religion, national origin, age, gender, or disability. Those rights in the past were not always available to all citizens in all states.

Recent laws and court decisions have extended many rights to any legal resident, not just citizens. Some scholars say those rulings have blurred the distinction between citizens and non-citizens so much that being a full-fledged citizen doesn’t mean that much anymore, even though it was the ideal of citizenship that drove the American Revolution.

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Is a citizen different from a subject?

A citizen through the political process tells the government what it can and cannot do; a subject is told by the government what he can and cannot do.
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The difference is who is in control. It was not until the American and French revolutions in the late 18th century that the idea of citizenship existed at all and we first heard the phrases “consent of the governed” and “inalienable rights.” The Declaration of Independence talks of “self-evident truths,” but in most of the world, those truths were brand new. One of them was that the people themselves were the source of all political power, and if a government overstepped its limits, the people had the right to create a new government. The sole right of a subject is to do what he is told when he is told to do it.

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Do I have to make big sacrifices if I am a citizen?

You must obey the law. Involvement in politics and voting is voluntary.
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There is a continual debate on the responsibilities of citizenship. Does a good citizen drive a fuel-efficient car? How about water and land conservation? How active should citizens be politically? Each citizen must decide how much time, talent, and money should be devoted to the common good rather than self-interest. In fact, what is the common good? How about self-interest? Is it possible that your self-interest might be better served by the common good? There are no ready answers to any of those questions, but your individual answers will determine the sacrifices you will be willing to make as a citizen.

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Do I have to join the military and maybe risk my life in a war?

Not now. The United States military is volunteer group, but there is a growing movement toward national service.
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In several countries every able-bodied citizen is required to perform a period of military service. That is currently not required in the United States, but the U.S Supreme Court ruled long ago that the government could, if it wanted, require individuals to serve in the military. There is a movement to require national service, but not necessarily in the military. Young people could serve in public schools or the Peace Corps or national, voluntary programs to make life better. The idea behind it is that citizenship gives you something of value, and you should give something of value back.

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Will I be treated better if I am a citizen?

Treated better? Perhaps, you may feel more secure and respected and less subject to discrimination.
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A new citizen may face less discrimination, but as courts blur the distinction between citizens and legal residents, all legal residents expect to be treated the same. That comes from the recognition of universal human rights found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. There are some differences between citizens and non-citizens, especially for citizens dedicated to public or military service, who earn special respect and medals. On the other side, non-citizens are sometimes barred from public benefit programs, things like housing and medical programs.

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What’s the difference between citizenship and my national identity?

Citizenship has to do with how you are treated legally. Nationality has to do with how you feel emotionally.
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Originally everyone in the United States was from somewhere else, so one’s national identity could be Irish, German, African, Japanese, Serbian, American Indian, and everything else you can imagine. Citizenship is determined by law, either through birth or naturalization. National identity is determined by social factors such as common language, cultural heritage, religion — all those things that would make a group of people want to be together and exclude others. Thomas Paine argued in Common Sense, his best-selling pamphlet in 1776, that Americans had created a separate nationality quite distinct from Great Britain that required a separate government. From the American Revolution until now, there has been an expectation that each nationality should have its own state. But that does not fit the reality of a world of migration, intercultural marriage, world-wide economics, and interdependence, to name just a few. Governments have to accept that people living as citizens in their countries do not have, nor do they need or want, a single nationality. We may have to rethink what we mean by the word citizen.

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Is citizenship possible only in a democracy?

Citizenship depends on law, not on government.
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There are many forms of government that observe the rule of law but are not democratic. On the other hand, democracy may be the best way to protect our rights as citizens, because democracy allows us to participate in government. A non-democratic government could change the rules of citizenship without asking us, or even allowing our opinions.

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If I get involved in politics, do I have to listen to other people’s opinions?

Do you have to or should you? You do not have to, but you should.
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Citizens should listen to and learn from many points of view to create effective laws. Ideas that we consider odd or “off the wall” have a way of eventually winning acceptance. For instance, the American Revolution was considered a lunatic idea by about a quarter of the people of Virginia and by about half the people of New York in the 18th century. In your self-interest, people are more willing to listen to you if you listen to them. It’s human nature. Listening could include rallies and protest marches, which can be exhilarating and fun and highly effective.

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Should I get involved in politics when I don’t know anything about the issues or government?

Do you know what you consider right and wrong? That’s all it takes.
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You aren’t going to learn much unless you get involved. If nothing else, you will learn who might actually know something about a public need. You can ask questions and find out who has an idea with which you agree. The truth is you already know more than you think you do, but you may not know exactly how to express it, and that you can learn. Getting involved will build your confidence and put you in the middle of the action.

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If I'm a citizen, may I rebel against government?

You may already rebel every time you vote.
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Except for “throwing the scoundrels out” in assorted elections, government officials usually say you cannot and should not rebel, but political philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke say not only that you can, but that you must. When a government can no longer protect the rights of its citizens, what good is it? Governments can become corrupt, stagnant, non responsive. Rebellion may be fueled by the words of Thomas Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”

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