"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."
(Oath of Allegiance to the United States)
Citizenship
Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and duties. In this sense, citizenship was described as "a bundle of rights -- primarily, political participation in the life of the community, the right to vote, and the right to receive certain protection from the community, as well as obligations."Citizenship is seen by most scholars as culture-specific, in the sense that the meaning of the term varies considerably from culture to culture, and over time. In China, for example, there is a cultural politics of citizenship which could be called "peopleship".[39] How citizenship is understood depends on the person making the determination. The relation of citizenship has never been fixed or static, but constantly changes within each society. While citizenship has varied considerably throughout history, and within societies over time, there are some common elements but they vary considerably as well. As a bond, citizenship extends beyond basic kinship ties to unite people of different genetic backgrounds. It usually signifies membership in a political body. It is often based on, or was a result of, some form of military service or expectation of future service. It usually involves some form of political participation, but this can vary from token acts to active service in government.
Citizenship is a status in society. It is an ideal state as well. It generally describes a person with legal rights within a given political order. It almost always has an element of exclusion, meaning that some people are not citizens, and that this distinction can sometimes be very important, or not important, depending on a particular society. Citizenship as a concept is generally hard to isolate intellectually and compare with related political notions, since it relates to many other aspects of society such as the family, military service, the individual, freedom, religion, ideas of right and wrong, ethnicity, and patterns for how a person should behave in society. When there are many different groups within a nation, citizenship may be the only real bond which unites everybody as equals without discrimination—it is a "broad bond" linking "a person with the state" and gives people a universal identity as a legal member of a specific nation.
Citizenship is a status in society. It is an ideal state as well. It generally describes a person with legal rights within a given political order. It almost always has an element of exclusion, meaning that some people are not citizens, and that this distinction can sometimes be very important, or not important, depending on a particular society. Citizenship as a concept is generally hard to isolate intellectually and compare with related political notions, since it relates to many other aspects of society such as the family, military service, the individual, freedom, religion, ideas of right and wrong, ethnicity, and patterns for how a person should behave in society. When there are many different groups within a nation, citizenship may be the only real bond which unites everybody as equals without discrimination—it is a "broad bond" linking "a person with the state" and gives people a universal identity as a legal member of a specific nation.
Rights:
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Responsibilities:
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stages of public Engagement
The first--the Information Stage--is a one-way relationship in which government compiles and delivers information to citizens.
Stage two--the Consultation Stage--constitutes an interactive two-way relationship between informed citizens and their government, where voices are heard through public opinion surveys and commentary related to proposed legislation and regulations. Citizens during this stage have an opportunity to express their preferences--a stage that Barber (2003) refers to as “plebiscitary democracy.”
Stage three--Active Participation—occurs when citizens engage directly in the decision- and policy-making process, proposing options and shaping outcomes. Barber (1984) calls this “strong democracy,” where citizens “regard discourse, debate, and deliberation as essential conditions for reaching common ground and arbitrating differences among people in a large, multicultural society” (Barber, 2003, p. 37). As a remedy to incivility and apathy, Barber contends that this stage enables active citizens to “govern themselves in ‘the only form that is genuinely and completely democratic".
Stage two--the Consultation Stage--constitutes an interactive two-way relationship between informed citizens and their government, where voices are heard through public opinion surveys and commentary related to proposed legislation and regulations. Citizens during this stage have an opportunity to express their preferences--a stage that Barber (2003) refers to as “plebiscitary democracy.”
Stage three--Active Participation—occurs when citizens engage directly in the decision- and policy-making process, proposing options and shaping outcomes. Barber (1984) calls this “strong democracy,” where citizens “regard discourse, debate, and deliberation as essential conditions for reaching common ground and arbitrating differences among people in a large, multicultural society” (Barber, 2003, p. 37). As a remedy to incivility and apathy, Barber contends that this stage enables active citizens to “govern themselves in ‘the only form that is genuinely and completely democratic".
videos
A Promise of Freedom (US Citizenship)
Civic and Social Duties (Mr Raymond's)
DEmocracy definition
Democracy is a word with at least two different meanings. First, the term democracy is used to de- scribe those regimes that come as close as possible to Aristotle’s definition—the “rule of the many.” A government is democratic if all, or most, of its citizens participate directly in either holding office or making policy. This is often called direct or participatory democracy.
The second definition of democracy is the principle of governance of most nations that are called democratic. It was most concisely stated by the economist Joseph Schumpeter: “The democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals [that is, leaders] acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.” Sometimes this method is called, approvingly, representative democracy; at other times it is referred to, disapprovingly, as the elitist theory of democracy.
The second definition of democracy is the principle of governance of most nations that are called democratic. It was most concisely stated by the economist Joseph Schumpeter: “The democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals [that is, leaders] acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.” Sometimes this method is called, approvingly, representative democracy; at other times it is referred to, disapprovingly, as the elitist theory of democracy.
RESOURCES
Articles
| Voter's Self Defense Guide 2016 |
| 33_iconic_photos_of_people_standing_up_to_injustice_-_matador_network.pdf |
| rutgers-lib-40777_pdf-1.pdf |
| m-767.pdf |
