We explain what a citizen is and the evolution of this term in history. Also, what does it mean to be a good citizen?
What is Citizen?
The concept of citizen refers to those who exercise their citizenship, a condition that characterizes the aforementioned category civic and that can be defined as a series of acknowledgments expressed in rights and obligations, both individual and social.
In everyday life we use the word citizen to refer to the persons who live in a town. This overlapping of ideas arises in the historical concept of the term, which alluded to the inhabitants of the so-called city-state.
In the case of Ancient Greece, the definition did not include all of them, since it was limited to free men who had been born in the city. Women, slaves, and foreigners, therefore, were out of that category. In this way a aristocracy ("Government of the best"), and citizenship was limited to that.
In the case of the Roman Empire, there were different degrees of privileged citizenship, being somewhat more inclusive than the Greek. However, perhaps the peak moment in this evolution was the French Revolution of 1789, in which the ideas of Liberty, equality and fraternity included all men born in the country, regardless of their social status (except criminals). The ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen’, some years later, signified the consolidation of this extension of the term.
The question of women's citizenship and their equality with men would come a long time later, and would be much more variable according to each country, with extensions such as the right to vote, or equality in working conditions. However, it should be noted that even today in certain countries the fundamental rights of citizenship are not recognized for women.
In short, the concept of citizen was modified over time: it went from referring to belonging to a social class or a relevance within a community to the mere fact of having been born within the territory of a country.
In legal terms, we often speak of citizens belonging to a nation specific. It is a bond that creates capacities and obligations, and that according to the legislation of each country varies. In some cases, citizenship is admitted for the children of citizens, even if they were not born in the country. Thus, there are many people in the world who have dual citizenships, which grant them the same conditions as those born in the place (native citizens).
What does it mean to be a good citizen?
The concept of citizenship, however, also has a side that goes beyond the legal and objective framework. To the extent that it is believed that coexistence in society It is something that is built daily among all, the condition of good or bad citizen is given by the behaviors of individuals in their relationship with their neighbors.
Let's look at some examples of what "a good citizen" is expected to do:
- Comply with the country's obligations (tax, legal, democratic).
- Act with education Y I respect for others, especially the elderly, children and the disabled.
- Get involved in decision making that must be given within society, participating in the instances at its disposal and organizing itself to express the problems That appear.
- Help take care of the environment in which he lives, thus caring for the next generations.
The family and the first instance relationships are the ones that will most favor for the child to acquire these values, but school is also an important area in which you learn to be a good citizen. This is why there is, in many countries, a compulsory subject known as civic training or ethical and citizenship training, which helps to reinforce these key concepts for a good coexistence among all.