The good citizen project Chapters 2 and 3 By Ammie Fisher Citizenship The good citizen project Chapters 2 and 3 By Ammie Fisher

Citizenship Citizenship is a concept with a long history in poiltical; science, and its origins can be traced back to debates between Aristotle and Plato over how a a citizen of Athens should act.

Aquired many meanings Through out the Millennia the term has acquired many meanings. The open definition of citizenship refers to what people feel and what is expected from them as “good citizens.” Studies define citizenship as a shared set of expectations about a citizens role in politics.

BE PROUD Citizenship can also be used to describe the legal status of a citizen of a nation. The legal rights of a citizenship and how one becomes a citizen. This also involves Partroism and national pride.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Public participation in politics is broadly considered a defining element of democratic citizenship the nation was founded on citizen participation in political decision making, even though it was limited by the US constitutional structure.

SOCIAL CITIZENSHIP The expansion of civil and political rights creating a new category of social rights, social services, and providing for those in need and taking heed of the general welfare of others.

THE THREE ELEMENTS OF CITIZENSHIP PARTICIPATION STATE AUTHORITY SOCIAL RIGHTS

PARTICIPATION Participation is a prime criterion for defining the democratic citizen and his or her role within the political process and is central to the philosophical literature on democracy.

AUTONOMY This is the second category related to participation. Autonomy implies that a good citizen should be sufficiently informed about government, to exercise a participatory role, and to ideally understand the views of others.

SOCIAL ORDER This represents the acceptance of state authority as part of citizenship such as: Obeying laws and regulations Never evading taxes Be willing to serve in the Military Report crimes that one may have seen

CHAPTER 3 In this chapter it examines how citizenship norms vary across a basic set of social characteristics, generation, education , social status, gender ethnicitys, religion and partisianship and the implications of the different norms of citizenship

A different Era The pre 1945 generation were raised in a different era, with different expectations and practices of citizenship. This is refered to as the “greatest Generation” that Tom Brokaw wrote about.

The Great Depression These men and women came of age in the “Great Depression”, when the economic despair hovered the land like the plague. They watched their parents lose their businesses, their farms, jobs, and their hopes.

War Across Europe and Asia When the war was over, the men and the women that were involved joined in jouyous and shortlived celebrations and began to rebuild their lives. They stayed true to their values of personal responsibility, duty , honor, and faith.

THE DOOFUS GENERATION Most contemporary writings on the citizenship of the postwar baby boom generation of the 1960’s and 1970’s agree that the younger generations are what is wrong with contemporary American Politics. They became of political age during the 70’s and 80’s. “In the eyes of many observers, we are indifferent and ignorant. Unworthy successors to the baby boom generation that in the 1960’s set the modern standard for political activism by the young.

PERHAPS The erosion of duty based norms among the young is offset by increased support for engaged citizenship, which stresses alternative forms of political participation, concern for the less priviledged and attention to the views of others.

The Rising Tide of Social Status It is perceived that educational levels are strongly related to democratic participation and enlightenment. Better educated are more likely to vote more often, to be active in their community to be more knowledgable about politics and be more politically tolerant.

Women’s role in Society Another major transformation in the late twentieth century involved the role of women in society. Moving from positions of homemakers to active participants in the labor force.

RACE AND ETHNICITY For instance given the history of racial policies (explicit and implicit) in America, African Americans and other minorities may be more restrained in the sense of citizen duty.

CITIZENSHIP AND RELIGION Americans saw themselves as creating a new nation, and a nation that differed from all others. Religion instills norms of behavior that may carry over to the political domain because they define expectations about power, relationships, and appropriate social behaviors. For instance it is typically argued that Catholicism increases acceptance because of structure of the Roman Catholic church and its teachings.

PARTISIAN DIFFERENCES Partisian loyalties to the Democrats of Republicans may also influence citizenship norms. Support for democracy and the principles of good government and good citizenship should not be the domain of only one party. That is democracy functions best when Republicans and Democrats both believe it is important to obey the law and keep a watchful eye on government, but one party may place more emphasis on the former and the other on the latter. Democratic and Republican politicians, and a host of academics argue that that we need to strengthen citizenship through civic education programs, public service programs and other political reforms.

THE SOCIAL ROOTS OF CITIZENSHIP The definition of “good citizenship varies across different groups of the American public. Older Americans are much more likely to stress duty based norms, while the younger generations tend to emphasize engaged citizenship. Democrats and Republicans display a similar polarization as do radical groups and religious groups . Both have positive implications the for the functioning of the political process and the behavior of the American public.