What does it mean to be a citizen living in the United States of America this day and age? Before answering this broad question a factoid should be introduced. As statistical data obtained from multiple survey results suggests,1 Americans as a whole are grossly ignorant to the ways in which their government operates. Feasibly, that sheer ignorance has seeped over into the conventional definition and values of American citizenship. To be sure, in the United States citizenship encompasses many rights and responsibilities. In the conventional sense, Americans have the freedom to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, for example. More commonly, Americans are aware they also have the right to vote, even though voter turnout rates have meagerly fluctuated since 1948.2 As for civic responsibilities, paying taxes and abiding by national, state, and local laws most certainly strike the mind. Yet voting, paying taxes, and adhering to the law only
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As a devout abolitionist and stout detractor of the Mexican-American War, Thoreau believed the American people were aware of "[their] right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency [were] great and unendurable" (287). In retrospect, Thoreau was an outspoken idealist, and it 's unfortunate that he never lived to see his idealism become reality in President Lincoln’s ratification of the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide. Nor was he able to bear witness to the sheer sacrifice of American blood expended throughout the full course of the Civil War (1861–1865), which helped solidify that freedom. Nevertheless, his words echo, even today, one of the five rights set forth in the 1st amendment: the right to petition the government. A basic right that is often overlooked in a contemporary American context, if not already
As a devout abolitionist and stout detractor of the Mexican-American War, Thoreau believed the American people were aware of "[their] right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency [were] great and unendurable" (287). In retrospect, Thoreau was an outspoken idealist, and it 's unfortunate that he never lived to see his idealism become reality in President Lincoln’s ratification of the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide. Nor was he able to bear witness to the sheer sacrifice of American blood expended throughout the full course of the Civil War (1861–1865), which helped solidify that freedom. Nevertheless, his words echo, even today, one of the five rights set forth in the 1st amendment: the right to petition the government. A basic right that is often overlooked in a contemporary American context, if not already