Engaged Citizenship Norms

The meaning of citizenship as a concept varies significantly for each individual-this meaning is directly influenced by factors such as age, ideological beliefs and socioeconomic class. Due to this difference in perspective it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what citizenship entails concerning the balance between the freedoms that we experience as citizens and the responsibilities that we must each fulfill in order for a democracy to function with stability and efficiency. This has become an issue in modern society as some citizens (particularly those in the millennial cohort) shrug off traditional duty based citizenship norms such as voting in elections, paying income taxes and obeying the law- for more “engaged” forms of participation such

Those that identify with duty-based citizenship norms are more likely to participate in traditional electoral style political behaviors such as paying income taxes, voting in elections, or serving in the armed forces- historically, this has been the most prevalent form of citizen involvement in politics. In recent years there has been a shift in focus among the younger generation from conventional duty based citizenship norms to a more involved, hands-on form of participation described as engaged citizenship. Those that identify with the engaged citizen model may still participate in electoral politics but are more likely to involve themselves through behaviors such as volunteer work, protesting unethical public entities and directly contacting public officials about issues that concern them. Duty based citizens differ from engaged citizens not only in the ways that they involve themselves politically, but also in the types of issues that they tend to focus on- for example, while duty-based citizens are more likely to focus on issues of the administrative, regulatory and fiscal variety, engaged citizens tend to focus on social, cultural and humanitarian issues. It could be argued that the duty-based model

However, through this course I have also come to recognize that due to the negative perception that is placed on our generation, the political objectives of young people will likely never be given adequate consideration by public officials should we continue to practice engaged citizenship while disregarding electoral participation. My personal definition of citizenship is recognizing the privileges we have as citizens of the United States and contributing to one’s community in whatever way they are able to do so. A responsible citizen is not simply an observer of the political process, but rather an informed