Are you a good citizen?

We talked quite a bit over the last few days about what citizenship is, and about how we can be good citizens. While we learned that there are certain steps to becoming a U.S. citizen, we hopefully realize by now that being a citizen of the U.S., or any other country for that matter, does not necessarily mean we active citizens of our community or our country.

So what does it take to be a good citizen? As citizens of the United States, should anything be expected of us when it comes to citizenship? How about required? Should citizens of this country be required to serve their communities and/or nation? Or should it be left up to the individual?

Some countries around the world have laws requiring citizens to serve in the military for a few years. Would this be a good idea in our country? How about requirements for community service? How do we balance the precious right to choose what we want to do with our time with the need for citizens to take an active role in protecting those freedoms?

Finally, how important is it that we as citizens take the initiative to learn all of that information on the citizenship test that we took on Thursday? If so few natural born citizens know that material, should we still require immigrants to know it in order to become citizens?

There is a lot to think about here, so take your time and give thoughtful responses. Teach me and your fellow students something.

I've provided a few links throughout the above text. They may help you think about the topic.

Your comments must be posted by 11:59 pm, on Wednesday, September 10. Good luck and have fun!!