RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP: CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The responsible citizenship is compromised exercise by each citizen, their constitutional rights and duties in their community. It is about the application of the favors offered by the Constitution by individuals in a responsible manner, respecting the laws of their communities and ensuring the common good.

Exemplary civic behavior is the antonym of individualism, since the former requires empathy and consideration for the other. Responsible citizenship also seeks to avoid political indifference, conformism and intolerance, because these elements harm societies in political, economic and social aspects.

To exercise responsible citizenship, the participation of the individual in the different activities and tasks that are promoted by their environment is elementary.

For example, for State agencies it is very important that citizens participate in electoral days, since this way it can be guaranteed that the result of the elections will be the consequence of the decision of the majority of the participants.

Through the responsible participation of citizens, people belonging to a community contribute to the cultural, economic, political and social development of their country or their environment.

This is possible thanks to the existence of democracy since, due to this, citizens have the opportunity to express their points of view and to choose the candidate they deem appropriate.

In addition, responsible citizenship is not only limited to active electoral participation, but also involves other aspects, such as the collective search for the preservation of the environment and for the conservation of historical infrastructures of vital importance for the cultural imaginary of a nation.

History of citizenship

To understand citizenship it is necessary to refer to Aristotle, who established that man is an intrinsically social being.

This means that the human being needs to develop in a community environment; Therefore, for this to be done in the most productive way possible, it is necessary to be subject to a series of values ​​that allow individuals to coexist in harmony.

Origin of the term

The concept of citizenship is usually directly associated with modernity; however, its birth occurred much earlier, during the time of classical Greece (that is, approximately 2,500 years ago). With the passage of time, this concept has broadened its horizons and has increasingly permeated the different spheres of reality.

In the same way, the appearance of citizenship brought with it the gestation of a series of values ​​that remain anchored to it; For example, along with this concept arose a wide number of rights, duties and responsibilities that are subject to the image of the ideal citizen.

As for the history of citizenship, then one can speak of a certain "progress" in terms of its conceptions. This is due to the fact that the human being is increasingly closer to a “universal citizenship”, which is independent of religious, national or cultural differences.

Previously, only wealthy men of legal age were considered citizens, excluding women, children and slaves. Currently there are no such racial or gender differences, so it is possible to speak of a spiritual and social development within the concept of citizenship.

characteristics

Equal rights and duties

Within a responsible citizenry, it is necessary that conditions of equality exist. This means that there is an equitable relationship between the rights and duties that correspond to each citizen.

These factors do not distinguish between race, filiation or gender: they must be the same for all the people that make up a community or country.

Citizenship in democracy

A responsible citizenship can only be carried out in a democratic territory, since in a dictatorial regime the State tries to suppress the voice of the individual through censorship.

Then, citizenship refers to the ability of each subject to express their discontent or favor, as long as it remains within the laws of the Constitution.

Collective participation

One of the main characteristics of responsible citizenship consists of the voluntary participation of citizens in different political and cultural activities.

In addition, education is a fundamental pillar to develop citizenship, so it is necessary for educational institutions to ensure the induction of this knowledge.

Electoral participation is fundamental within these duties, since through voting individuals express their opinion through a fair system, where the voice of the majority is the one that is victorious.

Examples

Electoral, political and cultural participation

For a responsible execution of citizenship it is necessary that the inhabitants of any region commit to participate in a clean and organized manner in all those activities that require voting and popular election.

The purpose of the above is to safeguard the common good of the nation and to protect both collective and individual interests.

A responsible citizenship lacks egotism, since its own interests must be found on a par with collective interests; the former cannot harm the others, since that would be the opposite of the concept of citizenship.

Citizenship in the ecosystem

One of the issues that most concerns the citizens of the world today is the problem that the planet is experiencing in relation to climate change.

As a consequence of this adverse scenario, the individuals of a community must ensure the protection of the environment; in this way they will be applying responsible citizenship.

For example, one of the ways to exercise responsible citizenship is to recycle and reduce the consumption of garbage that is generated in homes, because garbage creates an abrupt amount of CO2, which damages the ozone layer and the terrestrial habitat.

Responsible citizens also need to be in charge of demanding that governments dedicate themselves to promoting the creation of sustainable cities; This is accomplished through the use of renewable energy and through education regarding waste management.

References

1. (SA) (2014) A responsible citizenship. Retrieved on February 2, 2019 from the newspaper El Nuevo día: elnuevodia.com
2. Palacios, F. (2012) A responsible citizenship. Retrieved on February 2, 2019 from the newspaper La Voz: lavoz.com.ar
3. Parra, M. (2008) Educational keys for responsible citizenship. Retrieved on February 2, 2019 from ABC color: abc.com.py
4. Romero, G. (2016) Five responsible citizenship initiatives to stop climate change. Retrieved on February 2, 2019 from Blogs BID: blogs.iadb.org
5. Tedesco, J. (2005) We educate for a responsible citizenship in democracy: the ethical dimension in educational practices. Retrieved on February 2, 2019 from Andalucía educativa: ugr.es
6. Ureña, P. (sf) Educate in and for democratic citizenship. Retrieved on February 2, 2019 from Dialnet: dialnet.unirioja.es