citizenship
Among all the New Year resolutions we make to start 2013 — quitting the smokes, losing weight, reducing credit card use and the like — we might consider resolving to become better citizens.
Some of that better citizen behavior takes familiar “V” forms: voting, volunteering and a voice in pubic matters, citizen watchdogs if you will.
It was 50 years ago today that John F. Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.” He used this phrase in his 1961 presidential inauguration address to the American public. Did President Kennedy leave a lasting legacy of responsible citizenry? Do we still have that commitment to citizenship today that was felt that January afternoon in 1961?
Some folks do not spend a lot of time thinking about the cache that comes with U.S. citizenship. So, it’s understandable that when some people do, they conclude that it ought not apply to just anyone.
And so, the immigration battle comes into play.
Colonial Williamsburg -- Flag Day, June 14, 2010, commemorates the adoption of the United States flag. For others, it also celebrates a new group of American citizens who will recite the Oath of Allegiance and formalize their status as naturalized citizens of the United States of America.
Welcome to the nearly 100 new American citizens who participated in the June 15, 2009 Naturalization Ceremony at Colonial Williamsburg. We'd like to know your thoughts about becoming a naturalized citizen. Respond here.
The nexus between science and citizenship may not be obvious. What good does it do a citizen to know about dark energy and dark matter, and the difference between them? Or that we live in four dimensions, or that space bends? That’s stuff for eggheads, right?
Noted American Civil War historian James McPherson says American citizens subscribe to values derived from American history. The Princeton University professor emeritus thinks freedom, equality and opportunity, and cultural pluralism are the hallmarks of American society. What do you think?
Noted American Civil War historian James McPherson says American citizens subscribe to values derived from American history. The Princeton University professor emeritus thinks freedom, equality and opportunity, and cultural pluralism are the hallmarks of American society. Watch the video and tell us you think.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gordon Wood's idea of citizenship is one of equality. And the Brown University history professor says today’s partisanship government isn’t any worse than it was in the 1790s. What do you think?
Being a citizen is part of your identity. Mike Hartoonian, University of Minnesota, says that wealth, knowledge and justice are all a part of citizenship. But his definitions of those terms may be different from yours. Let us know if you agree with Creating Better Citizens.
