In my personal view, citizenship describes a person who lives in a specific country and is recognized by the government for living there. Citizenship is usually based on if you were born in the country that you want to be a citizen in, or if you went through a government ordained process, such as some form of test, to become a citizen of said country. For instance, Dictionary.com describes citizenship as, “the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen” or “the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations, and functions of a citizen” (Citizenship). So as you can see, I feel that citizenship shows that a person is viewed as a member of society by the government, and that person receives all of the rights that a country gives to its citizens.
Based on the definition from Dictionary.com, we can see that having citizenship means that a person receives all of the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen, but not everyone receives these rights, privileges, and duties, even if they are a citizen. Many people are treated poorly, and their rights of citizenship are deemed as not as important as another person, because of factors they cannot control, and this treatment is just disgusting. In the specific case of America, I feel that all people deserve equal rights and that no person should have their rights taken away or diminished because of a factor that cannot be controlled. Every person is different, and our differences are what make each individual person amazing.
To continue where I left of, the rights and privileges of a citizen in the United States are like no other country in the world, and when I see that not everyone receives the same rights, it makes me upset. Due to the fact that I have never had any of my rights taken away, I can not speak on behalf of people that have, but I can mention examples of people who fought for their rights when they were not given to them. When I think about these people that were so eager to obtain the rights of being a citizen that were wrongly taken from them, my mind constantly goes to Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was willing to do whatever it took to bring equal rights to African Americans, and the respect that I feel for the courage he showed and sacrifices he made to accomplish his goal can not even be described. I find this quote from Dr. King very interesting, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (Letter from Birmingham Jail). As you can see, Dr. King felt that a citizen whose rights were taken away must demand them back, and fight to obtain them.
As I stated earlier, citizenship is “the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen” or “the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations, and functions of a citizen” (Citizenship). Citizenship is what makes a person a functioning member of society, and it is something that is so desirable for people who are not citizens and who do not experience it. But when people who are citizens do not experience the rights and privileges that they deserve, I see this as a problem that needs to be and can be changed by standing up for those who are not treated equally. Throughout my writing, my hope was to show you that the rights of citizenship is something that is worth fighting for and that needs to be fought for if they are not given.
Works Cited
“Citizenship.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/citizenship.
Letter from Birmingham Jail. web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Letter_Birmingham_Jail.pdf.