What Does It Mean To Be A Citizen

When one is faced with the task of answering the question of what is the minimum one can do without being considered a bad citizen a multitude of answers may be thought of. However, in order to answer this question one must answer what it means to be a citizen. For the purpose of this question one will be using the United States of America as a model for what a citizen is. A citizen in the US is an individual that was born in the US or has gained citizenship through the naturalization process. What sets a citizen apart from a resident in the US is the right to vote. Though one is not able to vote until he/she reaches the age of eighteen, Derek Heather suggests that voting in elections may be the minimum one has to do in order to not be considered a bad citizen. Heather also goes on to suggest that when individuals are left to monitor themselves on whether to vote or not one sees a low turnout rate. However, it may be suggested that a good citizen is that simply votes once in a while and abides by the laws set in place. …show more content…
A decent citizen may be the one that seeks to follow the laws laid out for him. Also, a decent citizen may be one that is willing to do the very minimum asked of him. Decent citizens do not seek to change or truly comprehend the laws by which they are governed. A decent citizen may seek out an education, but may use it for his own personal gain and not for the betterment of society. Ultimately, the decent citizen is not concerned with becoming aware of how things can improve and if he is aware he is not willing to make the effort to seek out ways to create