Being a Global Citizen

Global citizenship is a term that is widely used for different purposes and meanings. There is no single agreement on the meaning of global citizenship. As we all know, the world is changing faster than most of us can keep up with, technology is one of those drivers of change and people are becoming more connected to each other around the world than ever before through internet usage. As people become more connected they begin to see themselves becoming a citizen not only through their natural birth place but a citizen of the world. There are many ways to understand citizenship or being a global citizen.
Based on the legal-political view, citizenship is a status granted on individuals by political communities that they belong in. It can also be defined as people giving allegiance to a country, they have to accept and uphold the duties, responsibilities and exercise the rights that they are entitled to as citizens such as obeying the laws, paying taxes, serving in the military forces if they need to, and have rights to participate in the political life by voting and participating in elections. As a citizen it is important to maintain law and order to society.
Students around the world are embracing cultural diversity and the school system is teaching the students about them. Throughout global media and technologies, virtually everyone on earth is exposed to foreign ideas and even our own communities are more diversified than ever before. The most important thing to understand about cultural globalization is it is largely driven by corporations, rather than countries. A citizen of the world is someone’s awareness of the world as a global community and recognizing the rights and responsibilities of citizens within it.

As a citizen of the world we must stand up to solve poverty, stand up to environmental degradation that is tearing apart our land, stand up and protect our country if it is being threatened, and be an activist against anything that deprive anyone from their rights, life, and pursuit of happiness. It is important to recognize we are not just citizens of our respected countries but citizens in a larger global community. Economically, with the rise of a global economy, we are now more dependent upon people who don’t live in our local communities.
Businesses are not restricted to one geographic area or group of the people instead they are everywhere. We are no longer a citizen of our own country, but citizens in a global community. These changes provide opportunities for great collaboration and we can find a way to work together. Global citizenship is seen as a way to reduce differences in quality of life among countries, reduce poverty, and protect the environment. Globalization is seen as a cause that could address worldwide issues such as hunger, malnutrition, and clean water. Protecting the environment and natural resources also becomes part of this concept of citizenship.
Being a global citizen is not necessarily being a good global citizen. By saying that I mean, we don’t have to be a really rich or anything to be global citizens; just the little step to do something is all it takes. Standing up for something you believe in, helping out the unfortunate, stopping someone from saying a racist comment is all part of being global citizens. A citizen of the world would be one who sees an opportunity to influence a global decision and accepts the behavior that comes with it. All individuals have duties and responsibility of doing that.