Page 349 - Keys to College Success

WHY BE A
global citizen?

A message sent over digital phone systems, email, or Facebook goes from Singapore
to Germany in seconds—or even milliseconds. A work team made up of people living in
New York, Ohio, Arizona, and California has meetings over the phone and on Skype.
Businesses based in one country hire and manage employees who live and work in other
countries and time zones. These changes and others like them have forged new connec-
tions among people from around the globe, effectively creating a global community.
Consider the Global Community Earth Government’s definition of a global com-
munity: “All that exists or occurs at any location at any time between the Ozone layer
above and the core of the planet below.” By this definition, everything that lives in the
air, on the earth, and below the earth’s surface is part of the global community, and all
of these living things are connected one to the other. Because of these connections,
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your actions affect people and things all around you. A negative effect: Throwing cell
phone batteries away can put them into a landfill where acids can cause damage to
plant and animal life. A positive effect: 203 strangers took action to donate blood,
which saved Lauren’s life.
CITIZENSHIP
Having the rights,
privileges, and duties Global Citizenship Defined
associated with
membership in a
To define global citizenship, first note the two components of citizenship:
particular society or 1. What you receive, that is, rights and privileges
community.
2. What you give, that is, your duties and obligations to others

Global citizenship, therefore, is being a member of the global community, and having
both the benefits (rights and privileges) and the obligations (duties) that come with that
membership (see Key 12.4). The scope of global citizenship goes beyond individual peo-
ple. Each school, company, organization, and nation can be seen as a global citizen, enjoy-
ing the privileges of the global community while being obligated to consider the needs of
other people, schools, companies, organizations, and nations when choosing actions.

Taking Action as a Global Citizen

With every action, you have a choice. It is human, and has been common, to make
choices with one’s own needs as the primary consideration. However, that self-centered

KEY 12.4 Being a global citizen carries both rights and obligations.

RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES INCLUDE… DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS INCLUDE…
Life, liberty, and security To protect the rights of other members of the global community
Status as a person before the law To consider the needs of others when making decisions

Freedom of movement within and without one’s own country To act in ways that do not harm others
Freedom of opinion and expression To choose actions that have a positive effect on other members
Freedom of peaceful assembly and association To choose actions that protect the environment

Freedom to work and to rest To respect other members of the global community
12 Education To build multicultural knowledge
CHAPTER 312