The definition of citizenship can be debated, yet a conclusion is seemingly intangible. The United States of America was built upon the fundamentals of freedom and opportunity–an idea which continues to fund American mindsets to the present day. The United States has fought tirelessly to become not just a piece of land but a unique composition of diversity. Out of the 195 countries inhabited, each inevitably faces complex difficulties, decisions, and sacrifices under the preface of citizenship. Although obtaining U.S. citizenship is physically secured by a set of boxes to check, the characteristics of a good American citizen come within the ability to utilize democracy, cultivating the willingness to create change and the sacrifice to preserve these freedoms for generations to come.
To be considered a citizen carries a different weight throughout history. Some cultures are proud of their country, some are simply surviving, and others remain at a crossroads. Some seek asylum in a country where the government continuously fails them. Americans fought tirelessly for hundreds of years to break away from a monarchy and create a government that listens to what people actually want–pushing to create a government free from a single belief, a government confusingly compiled. Consequently, being a citizen requires participation. Whether it’s local, state, or national voting–democracy is not so without the people who fund it. It is crucial to ingest the idea that no society will ever have a fully backed decision–but more importantly, a better decision cannot be made without our voices in it. No politician nor mandate can satisfy all of the manifold demographics, but the ability to express oneself makes a citizen American. The nationalism of America should support the honor of those wishing to join its prestigious citizenship, yet we bury the issue under the name of “protection.”
Some consider America a “melting pot” of ethnicities and cultures, yet the connotation that we are all the same is rightfully navigated against. Though some parts of the country remain frozen in traditional times of disconnected ignorance, with education, privileged citizens have used our advantages to recognize those less fortunate and discriminated against. American rights have been progressively fought for since the early settlers, yet just recently, in 2020, they were put on full blast. The “Black Lives Matter” movement was amplified from the cities to the suburbs, yet the exigence was not just under a select few. Recognizing that no government will ever be perfect is critical, yet being surrounded by constant comfort further embeds America in stunted progress. You might be upset with how high your taxes are; what about those fighting for basic rights? What about those whose voices are silenced daily yet get up and try again the next day? A U.S. citizen must be susceptible to change that may not benefit everyone. Still, change from empathy and human compassion represents the foundation upon which the United States was built. Every right we have was born from selflessness and could not be so without fighting for things that are bigger than ourselves.
Is this who we are today?
I specifically recollect waking up one morning to unfamiliar sobs. Walking down the stairs, a family of three was gathered in my kitchen eating pancakes after my father invited them in. They were stranded because their car was hit outside of my house, yet they were frozen in the connotation of undocumented status. They could not call the local police and huddled in my beach-themed living room, hands locked, praying to God for help. Their 7-year-old daughter was astonished by our family dog eating through our compost bin in the backyard. My father, being the weird handyman he is, was met with a choice other than whether he should pick Lowes or Home Depot. “Is this who we are? The man sat and watched my dad glue on their bumper, rewire the brake system–and vacuum the carpets. My father is an immigrant himself. He decided to help a family in need out of empathy, with no other circumstance overriding it. With his family watching, he was left to choose to support or ignore.
Is this who we are?
The requirements of a citizen in America are skewed. They are incompetent. They are shallow. A citizen is now created out of a standard of metaphorical boxes to be checked–yet the entirety of humanity and circumstance are left unaccounted for.
Is this who we are?
This beautiful family was begging for unreachable help. Help that our country has the privilege to exercise yet does not. Freedom and Democracy are at the wages of every American war, yet they are violated in the homeland. A U.S. citizen is a human who can recognize inconsistency, injustice, and violations but, in that crucial moment, decide whether to act or to remain silent.
Is this who we are?
Being a good citizen does not mean being comfortable. To be a good citizen means to act, speak, and sacrifice to create a community where change can be fostered for generations in the future.
Our current boxes for U.S. citizenship are physical requirements, yet they should entail character and hope. The United States will never, and can never be perfect–yet the beauty in the Democracy we protect is to strive for justice and rights daily, simply because we have the privilege to. To any American, to be a good citizen is to fight, to seek discomfort, and to expose injustice on the forefront to push the country forward with gratitude–in American fashion, yet for all.