SST3772-ABED_1: Unit 7.7 Citizenship - Rights and Responsibilities

To what extent should we embrace an ideology?

Big Ideas

Exhibit a global consciousness with respect to the human condition and world issues.
Accept responsibilities associated with individual and collective citizenship.
Explore how Ideologies shape individual and collective citizenship.
Examine perspectives on the rights, roles, and responsibilities of the individual in a democratic society.

Citizenship—Rights and Responsibilities

Responsible Citizenship

In the first section of this unit, you examined three general types of citizens and their worldviews/ideologies concerning citizenship:

Alienated Citizens
Conventional Citizens
Responsible Citizens

Now, compare your views from the survey with the following summary of the survey. Remember that this is only one way of thinking about the viewpoints of citizenship presented in the survey.

Becoming informed about the issues facing society: Citizens must decide how knowledgeable they should become about things affecting society.
Satisfying personal goals and the goals of society: Citizens must make choices about how much importance they place on seeking their own self-interest and how much they should place on fulfilling the collective interests of society.
Defining the role of government: Citizens make decisions about why they need a government and what role should be performed by government in society.
Influencing decisions: Citizens make choices about how they will exercise power and affect the decisions to be made in society.
Accepting authority: Citizens make choices about their attitudes toward the presence of authority in society. Do people think that the presence of authority is necessary to help them achieve what they want or to limit their activities to maintain order in society?
Membership in society: Citizens make choices about how they see themselves as part of society. Do individuals have a sense of belonging, and do they act in ways that are accountable to the group?
Accepting ideas of others: Citizens decide how much they understand and tolerate the ideas of others. Will they listen to and accept ideas that are different from their own?

What do you think?

What are the most important attitudes that a responsible citizen should have?

Individual and Collective Citizenship

Liberalism is an ideology based on individualism, self-interest, and individual rights and freedoms. Liberal democracies try to achieve these things for their individual citizens through constitutional guarantees. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the American Bill of Rights are examples of this.

However, individuals live in societies made up of many other individuals. As a result, even liberal society is a collective group. To what extent should individualism and self-interest come before the goals of the collective society? Should government always provide for everything?

Imagine how you would feel if you were the victim of a mugging and no one stopped to help you. You call for help, but no one pays any attention; they walk around you and continue on their way. Imagine the problems a community would have if no one volunteered to build playgrounds or help with community fund-raisers.

To make society better for everyone, people need to become involved. Unless citizens participate in their communities, whether in a local neighborhood or on a national level or even on a global level, society suffers.

Citizenship means that citizens must act in ways that contribute to society as a whole. In other words, citizenship is a participatory process.

What are some reasons for and perspectives on participatory citizenship?

Respect for Law and Order: Obeying the law is important for keeping order in society. But what if some individuals cause harm to society by constantly refusing to follow the laws? What can citizens do?
Political Participation: Voting and running for office in elections are rights in liberal democracies. Are there other ways of influencing government decision-making?
Humanitarianism: Poverty, abuse, and natural and man-made disasters occur locally, nationally, and globally. How can citizens get involved to make conditions better for their fellow human beings?
Protest and Civil Disobedience: Liberal democracies usually allow for some dissent concerning government decisions. But what if citizens believe the government is refusing to listen? Is violence an acceptable form of dissent?

These are explained with various perspectives in the following reading in your textbook.

Read "Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities" on pages 396-403 of your textbook, Understandings of Ideologies. These pages will further your understanding of the concept of the rights, roles, and responsibilities of the individual in a democratic society.

You should make notes, either on paper or on your computer, about what you have read. You may want to read the tutorial How to Make Notes. When you are finished the tutorial, return here to continue this unit.

Community Services

Community services are examples of citizen participation. You are probably familiar with some of the major community services in your area. Following is a list of some well known community services or volunteer agencies:

Block Parent Program: This program helps children when they are lost, harassed, or frightened and offers them protection and shelter.
Neighborhood Watch: People share in the security and protection of their neighborhood through this group. They report any suspicious activity to the police.
Rural Crime Watch: This program is similar to Neighborhood Watch but in rural areas.
Meals on Wheels: This organization delivers hot meals to shut-ins and the elderly.
Crime Stoppers: This program gives cash awards for tips about crimes such as break-ins, hit-and-runs, and assaults.
Kinsmen: This organization raises large sums of money for various charities, particularly cystic fibrosis, and helps build community sports facilities.
Royal Canadian Legion: This organization is made up mainly of ex-servicemen and women, many of whom served in the Canadian armed services in World War II and the Korean War. Descendants of veterans can be members, too.
Food Bank: This agency always needs food donors, volunteer drivers, hamper packers, and loaders—all year round.
Red Cross Society: This organization provides relief efforts in times of emergencies such as natural disasters.

Influencing Political Decision-Making

Some of the most common ways of getting involved in political decision-making in Canada are

joining a political party (Most political parties have youth associations, too.)
voting in elections after you turn 18
running for political office after you turn 18

However, there are other ways of influencing decision-making.

Writing letters to your local newspaper editor, MLA (Member of the Legislature of Alberta), MP (Member of Parliament), or even to the Prime Minister lets decision-makers know your views about specific issues. Through such input, the government can judge how the public will react to proposed legislation.
Petitions are actually one letter with many signatures—sometimes thousands! A petition can be a very powerful way of showing the government what citizens want.
Protests and demonstrations, especially peaceful ones, are visible means of drawing attention to concerns. Although peaceful protests and demonstrations influence decision-making, it is important that they do not become illegal actions.