How to be a Good Citizen

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Every citizen in our society has the right to freedom and to be happy. In order to preserve that right to be happy, you must be a virtuous citizen and fulfill and promote civic rights.

Here are three tips to follow on being a good citizen. First it is essential to obey all the laws of the land. Secondly you should not let your rights interfere or trample the rights of others, and lastly, you should be very community minded in spirit. 'We hold that law and order can be restored without turning this country of the free into a Police State.' (Etzioni, 1993) First for law and order to be restored in our country it takes all of its citizen's obeying the laws. Those rights don't just merely require us to follow the rules, but to teach everyone especially our children what those laws are. In today's society it seems as if people have forgotten what laws are let alone obey them. It is said that 60% of people obey the laws most of the time. (Williams, 2000) With that kind of percentage we as a society have a lot of work to do to make good citizens. We have thousands of laws on the books and new ones being written everyday, but without enforcement from the court system, overcrowding of our jails and not enough reinforcement from parents to children it will never be solved. Unless we as citizens take control of the situation, when our children are grown they will be afraid to go outside of their homes

Secondly just because we are born in this country with inalienable rights doesn't mean that we can trample someone else's rights. Some follow the basic principle "that each of us has the obligation not to aggress against anyone else- for any reason, personal, social, or political, however worthy." Discussion List (online) Available: http://www.l4l.org/ (2000,sept16). These rights that we as citizens all enjoy should give credence to the saying in the Bible "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Bible, Matthew 7:12)

Lastly, as a good citizen we ought to have good community service or spirit.

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