Vencedores: Língua Estrangeira - Escalão B - Menção Honrosa

Being a Citizen

Just like once Obama said, the most important title one can have is being a “citizen”…

I must confess, at the time the former prime minister of the United States uttered these words, I didn’t realise its importance… Now I’m a nineteen-year-old girl, and watching the news every day, constantly using the internet and technological devices, and having some conversations with my parents at dinner time, for example, has led me to develop a better understanding of what it really means to be a citizen….

Some dictionaries claim that a citizen is “someone who has the right to live permanently in a particular country and has the right to the legal and social benefits of that country as well as legal obligations towards it”. The truth is that this is quite a diminishing way of looking at this major concept. Being a citizen goes way beyond what any definition may encompass…

This word, personally, reminds me that we can only fully exist as human beings if we take an active part in creating the community in which we live, by defending our rights and respecting our obligations. Throughout the years, countless people have fought for human rights and the impact that all those strikes, protests and speeches have had are, undoubtedly, immeasurable.

Were we to highlight some of those prominent figures of history, we could draw our attention to Martin Luther King. For instance, he led a peaceful protest for civil rights and discrimination in the USA and thus became an inspiration for people all over the globe. In one of his speeches, he mentioned that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, and those words hit me every single time I read them.

Besides that, we could consider women’s suffrage, which is undeniably a milestone in our history. This movement took root in the 19th century, basically with peaceful protests that achieved nothing… Therefore, radical actions were to be implemented and some women even lost their lives trying to defend what we now take for granted… These women inspire me to pursue my dreams and beliefs, especially Susan B. Anthony. The first time I heard her name was in my history class, and I was fascinated when I found out what she had accomplished and the courage she had to start a women’s rights movement that would revolutionize the world!

Moving forward in time, someone who I truly admire is Malala Yousafzai, a young woman who hit the headlines for her promotion of education as a right. I am now studying in college, but thousands of girls like me were not given that opportunity… Her courage and willpower and simply priceless!

However, being a citizen is not only about having rights but also about respecting beliefs and opinions, protecting what belongs to everyone, complying with the existing laws and contributing to the society in which we live. In the end, we are all citizens. 
We are citizens living in different countries, but in the same world.