What’s The Big Deal About Being A Good Citizen?

Dear Friend of RRHM,

You may feel very let down by the current state of the nation – inflation, poverty, terrorism, corruption, and everything else in-between … and you do have a right to feel disappointed, and even helplessly frustrated.

Yet, in spite of all these, we shouldn’t curse out our frustrations on the land. We don’t have the right to “mess up” just because the system lacks any decent structure and is messed up.

If anything, this is the time to exhibit “good citizenship”. We might ask ourselves, of what use is it being a good citizen when the country is in bad shape. Well if not for anything else, what would being a bad citizen bring us…just more bad.

Although the term “good citizen” has many perceptions, we would like to stick to this definition: ” A good citizen is a person who obeys the laws of his country, contributes to society and participates in public affairs with wisdom. Good citizenship is closely tied to the concept of civic duty, the idea that citizens have responsibilities they must fulfill with regard to their country.”

So in the midst of all that is happening in our country, how can we be good citizens?

Well a few ways we could do that would be:

1. Volunteering to be active in our communities.
2. Being honest and trustworthy. Let’s quit lying to ourselves and each other. Let our “Yes” be “Yes” and “No” be “No”.
3. Following rules and laws. Without order and structure, we can’t progress
4. Respecting the rights of others. This is also a show of love, which will promote the spread of peace and harmony.
5. Being informed about the world around you.
6. Respecting the property of others.
7. Being compassionate.
8. Taking responsibility for our actions.
9. Being good neighbors
10. Protecting the environment.

If we view our citizenship as a thing of pride, then we will all come together to make things work, because just as former President of the United States, Barack Obama said “Change only comes when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it.”