“Our True Nationality is Mankind.”
H. G. Wells
The topic of citizenship for a better world ties directly to my previous blog “A Case for Utopia”. Good citizenship is essential in achieving utopia today, however, before discussing the “good” of citizenship it’s important to first understand the tensions within the concept of citizenship itself. Committing oneself to be a citizen places us into a conflict that we must balance for the good of ourselves and the good of society. Our inherent individuality and independence must be balanced with the reality that we are born into a community, and in most cases dependent on that community.
We become citizens because we see the benefit of being part of a society or nation. As a result, we expect things from that membership such as services, protection, a choice in the decisions of the citizenry, and freedom to move about; or as John Locke puts forth the rights to, “life, liberty, and property,” converted to “the pursuit of happiness” by Thomas Jefferson. Becoming a citizen, can serve us well as individuals as we gain the rights to these benefits, but citizenship also requires an active contribution back to the group.
As members of society, we have duties and obligations to the group, many dictated by law, but many incumbent on our own motivation and desire to contribute. While we are provided tremendous freedom and autonomy as individual citizens, we must also actively participate to the betterment of society overall which should ultimately lead to the betterment of ourselves. This is a cornerstone of moving society forward toward utopia.
Each of us must be conscious of the important role we play as individuals in contributing as citizens. This interdependence combined with the new and growing interconnectedness of each of us can amplify one person’s voice. What you say and what you do does now matter, and thus the importance of being a “good” citizen is more critical now than ever before.
We need to, therefore, teach our children what it is to be a good citizen, so they grow with a firm foundation, and positively contribute to society from the earliest of ages. The greatest of philosophers, from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Dewey, all understood the importance of teaching good citizenship, thus we see how an understanding of virtues (see my previous blog, “Good People, Better World) and their relationship to education is important to developing good citizens, and therefore a good society.
Every person from the youngest age can be taught virtues, and how they connect to the good of oneself and of society. We can each become positive active members who can individually lead at all levels of society and help share in the leadership of our world.
Citizens of a Global Community
There was a time only a few hundred years ago that considering citizenship beyond one’s own locale was only within the realm of one’s imagination. With very limited means of transportation and communication, there were very few that had even a glimpse into this, and few less that lived to talk about it. This began to change with the invention of modes of transportation, and with that the world began to get smaller. As tribes and cultures began to collide, so did the realization that one was not alone, and that we were part of something larger; but how large?
It was only a few hundred years ago, that man began to span continents and map out the expanse of the world he was part of. The world still seemed a very big place, and in this context a much safer place at home, however that was defined. Citizenship in one’s own country took on a meaning beyond one’s city or town or local community so much so that it became worth fighting for, even if the planet was at stake.
In 1990, a single photograph changed this perspective when the Voyager 1 spacecraft turned its camera backward on its outward journey and took a picture of our planet. What at one time seemed to be the great frontier to explorers, was now seen as a “pale blue dot,” against the massive backdrop of space. We could now see the smallness and the preciousness of our home planet.
There were no differences to see, only one place which was the home of humankind. It’s within this context that we must begin to consider global citizenship. 
Communications and transportation technology have now advanced such that we can connect with anyone instantaneously, and travel to most any point on the planet within twenty-four hours.
Geography, time and distance are rarely a barrier. Mobility is at its highest ever and set to grow even more. We can’t help but consider ourselves as one community, and a picture such as the one mentioned makes it clear that at this point we only have each other. The good news is that we all have a sense of the concept of “citizenship.”
We know what it is to belong to something that goes beyond ourselves and our families. As we further grasp the planet as our shared home, we understand the need for shared stewardship especially since there are so few options if any (i.e. no planet “B”), in the foreseeable future.
CONCLUSION
Like hundreds of years ago, looking beyond one’s home could only be imagined, and to most an impossibility, and yet what was impossible then, now happens regularly. So, for now let the dreamers dream about distant worlds, and scientists find ways, discovery by discovery, to explore these frontiers. However, for the rest of us, let us understand the importance of our individual citizenship on this globe, and lead lives that will contribute to the betterment our own communities, our own nations, and most importantly our precious planet earth.
In my next blog, I’ll discuss Leadership for a Better World. We can all play a role and provide the service of leadership to our fellow citizens.