Citizenship

Citizenship is defined by certain rights and responsibilities that one has to a community they are a part of. Citizenship is about participating in the betterment of the community. I think that much of what it entails is self-sacrifice for the greater good. An easy example of this is volunteer work. This is something that many people take part of regularly, especially within our Greek community. If you read my previous post about Fiji's philanthropy event, then you could get a great sense on something that we try to do to give back. All the money that we raise through our fundraisers go to the Stefanie Spielman Fund, which is based here in Columbus. 

Besides volunteer work, I think that there are other things that go into good citizenship. Many of the basic responsibilities of citizenship include those that we are all aware of, such as voting and paying taxes/dues. But there are many more things that go into being an excellent citizen, such as helping someone carry groceries into their house, calling 911 when you see a car accident, letting someone share your umbrella when it's raining, or getting up on the bus to let an elderly person or pregnant woman sit down. In my opinion, these little things are what makes people excellent citizens. These are the things that bear no reward or publication of your effort. The things people do without the want or expectation for recognition and reward to help others is what makes good citizenship.

Quote of the Week:

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time - just one, one, one. So you begin. I began - I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand....The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin - one, one, one.”

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta quotes (Albanian born Indian Missionary and Founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. 1910-1997)