Service to their nation’s ideals and living the gospel are two ways BYU-Hawiaii professors and a student said people can be good citizens of their countries. They also said the benefits of being responsible citizens include a feeling of belonging and contributing to a higher quality of life for their fellow citizens.
What makes a good citizen?
Troy Smith, a professor in the Faculty of Business & Government, said being a good citizen helps a nation's political regime fulfill its objectives or do good services for the state, as Aristotle defined it.
“Aristotle reminds us that a good citizen isn’t necessarily the same thing as a good human. Some regimes have evil objectives, thus helping the regime harms one’s soul,” Smith said.
He said virtues that make a good human are not necessarily the same virtues that make a good citizen. “So, it is important to evaluate the goals of the state and decide which of those correspond with what is justice, true, good and right.”
According to Smith, the United States’ purpose and values are defined by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which are the equality of all men and the protection of basic fundamental rights.
In the Constitution’s preamble, the nation’s goals include forming a more perfect union, establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting general welfare and securing the blessings of liberty to citizens and their posterity.
“Hence, in the United States, a good citizen is to do work that helps fulfill these objectives,” Smith stated.
Line-Noue Memea Kruse, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts Department, said a good citizen is law-abiding and contributes to their community’s fabric. From a political science view, the vital aspects of being a responsible and good citizen are being educated and informed on local and national issues, she said.
Anne McCarrey Tobon, a senior from Laie majoring in anthropology, said, “Every country has different cultures. But in general, I believe if you live the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will be a good citizen of any country and the world.
“The gospel already teaches us to be a law-abiding citizen. I try to keep the laws of the country as much as I can.”
What actions should good citizens take?
Smith said people can learn about how the government functions and seek the truth to be good citizens. “Civics education is declining in the U.S. and, consequently, many people do not understand how the government works, such as why it has an electoral college, two chambers of Congress and the limits of presidential power,” Smith noted. “Misunderstanding how the government works means many are easily misled.”
Smith added good citizenship also includes seeking truth to truly understand the issues rather than being informed by propaganda and ideology. Informed voting, serving on a jury and participating in public events that serve good purposes are good citizenship elements.
“It includes doing service to your community, like cleaning beaches, roads and parks, helping your neighbors, assisting the police and helping at the polling places,” he said.
Giving some examples of how people can help both their local communities and their nation and strive for good citizenship, Smith suggested thanking servicemen and women for their service, being informed about current issues, and making their opinions known to policymakers through emails and letters,
The Bill of Rights in the Constitution also protects an individual’s right to free speech, peaceful assembly, and petitioning the government, Smith added. “The public may criticize the government in the United States. That is because America’s founders valued truth and recognized that the public sometimes might know more than the government.”
Good citizenship in the United States includes peacefully assembling and petitioning the government to change to fulfill the American people’s objectives better, he said.
Benefits of being a good citizen
Smith said he believes humans have an innate need to belong and a sense of justice that includes reciprocity. Being a good citizen gives people a feeling and belief of belonging in a community with people who share similar values and objectives.
Also, being a good citizen and doing good services for the state is a way of reciprocating to the state and political community for the good things it has done for its people, such as providing safe and secure homes, protecting liberty and property, supporting education and providing the basis for a positive, beneficial economy, Smith explained. “In addition, doing services to the state gives a good feeling of doing good for one’s fellows.”
Kruse said another benefit of being a good citizen is contributing to a higher quality of life in communities. She said she believes with all her heart in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” shared in 1995 by the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley. “Created by divine design, a mother and father have sacred responsibilities to raise responsible citizens,” Kruse said.
“In my sacred role as a mother, I incorporate the values of being a good citizen in my home, so when my children leave my home, they will carry these family and sacred traditions in their own families.”