Our Constitution says that a citizen of the United States is
a person who, by birth or choice, owes allegiance to this nation. You are legally an American citizen if you
were born in the United States or in one of its territories. This is true for those whose parents were not
citizens, unless they were living in the United States as representatives of a
foreign government. You are legally an American citizen if one of your parents
was a United States citizen when you were born. As long as one of your parents
is a citizen, it does not matter where you were born. You are legally an
American citizen if you have been naturalized, which means you have gone
through the process of becoming a citizen.
You are legally an American citizen if you were less than eighteen years
old when your parents were naturalized.
Naturalized citizens have all the rights and duties of
citizens by birth except the right to be President and Vice President. Once you are a citizen, you will always be a
citizen except in a few cases. For
example, a person can decide to give up citizenship or become a citizen of
another country. Citizenship may be
taken away from a person who is convicted of trying to overthrow the United
States government by force.
***************
Just as a licensed driver has certain duties that go with the right to drive, citizens have duties too. These duties include obeying the laws, defending the nation, serving on a jury or as a witness in court, paying taxes, and attending school. By performing each of these duties, we, as citizens, support our government’s efforts to meet our needs as a society.
Your family and your classroom have rules that keep them
running in an orderly way. A society’s formal rules are called laws. Some laws
are intended to keep us from hurting each other. They range from laws requiring
drivers to stop at stop signs to laws against murder and armed robbery. Other
laws establish the rules for making agreements and for settling
disagreements. We also must obey laws
that protect citizens’ rights.
Helping our country defend itself is another duty of citizens. When you are eighteen years old or older, you may volunteer to serve in the army, navy, air force, or marines. In addition, young men must register for military service when they reach age eighteen. Registering does not mean that they will have to serve in the armed forces, but it does mean that they can be called to serve when there is a national emergency. A man whose moral beliefs prohibit him from fighting may ask to be a conscientious objector. If his request is approved, he will be assigned to some other kind of public service, such as working in a hospital.
One basic right of citizens is the right to a fair trial. In our legal system, no person may be found guilty of a crime unless guilt can be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt.” We believe that the best way to determine a person’s guilt or innocence is to conduct a trial, with citizens participating in the process. While experts, such as lawyers, police officers, and psychologists may play an important part of a criminal trial, they do not make a final decision as to innocence or guilt. A judge does not make a final decision, either unless the accused person gives such permission. Instead, our Constitution guarantees that anyone accused of a crime may have the case decided by a jury of peers – a group of ordinary citizens who hear the case and decide whether the accused person is innocent or guilty. The decision of the jury is based upon evidence heard at a trial.
What civic responsibility is described in the above paragraph?
During a trial, the lawyers on both sides may call witnesses
to prove their case. Witnesses are people who have seen events related to the
crime or who have special information that may help determine the guilt or
innocence of the person on trial.
Criminal trials use witnesses and juries. However, criminal trials are
not the only ones that use witnesses and juries. Citizens may also ask a court to decide cases
in which they think their rights have been violated or they have been treated
unfairly. If two people cannot settle a
dispute, for example, they can go to court.
They can call witnesses to help them by testifying on their behalf.
All citizens must pay taxes in one form or another, including federal, state, local, Social Security, property and sales taxes. Each tax funds services and programs - i.e., schools, roads, police and fire protection, Medicare and national defense - that would be impossible to maintain without the support of tax payments.
Every day you go to school, you are performing one of your
duties as a citizen. Society depends on
schools to make sure that young people are prepared for the future. Another important task of the schools is to
give students the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to carry out the
duties and responsibilities of the “office of citizen.” Each of us must be educated about our
history, our government, and the workings of our society.
*********
Civic virtue is morality or a standard of righteous behavior in relationship to a citizen's involvement in society. An individual may exhibit civic virtue by voting, volunteering, organizing a book group, or attending a PTA meeting.
Civic virtue helps people understand their ties to the
community and their responsibilities within it. In many ways, an educated citizen
who possesses civic virtue is valuable to the society in which he lives.
**********
Civic virtue is the moral underpinning of how a citizen
relates to society. Without an understanding of civic virtue, citizens are less
likely to look beyond their own families, friends, and economic interests. They
are less likely to help others in the community, to volunteer their time, to
give money to nonprofit organizations, or to participate in a group that
benefits society (e.g., Kiwanis or Mothers Against Drunk Driving).
2) How is a civic duty (or responsibility) different from a civic virtue?
No comments:
Post a Comment