Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities of Citizens

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1 Chapter 15: Reflecting on Ideology and Citizenship Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities of Citizens * one of the responsibilities of citizenship is to obey the laws of the community in which you live. Some citizens feel that they have more than just a responsibility to follow the laws; they believe that they have a responsibility to ensure that other citizens obey the laws so that they can keep their communities safe (eg. Citizens on Patrol) Political Participation * when citizens of Canada feel that they want to change the way a democratic country is run, they can participate in the political process. There are many ways that they can do this such as: circulate a petition to demonstrate public support for your position organize a rally to protest an issue run for public office join or support a political party vote

2 Protest and Civil Disobedience * when people feel that their voices are not being heard, they may decide to participate in a protest or demonstration. * in some cases, citizens feel compelled to break the law in an act of civil disobedience to make their point. * one example of protesting is Canada s military involvement in Afghanistan. Some believe that Canada is taking too much of a military role, rather than a humanitarian role, and is receiving little international support * some Canadians argue that when a country is involved in a conflict, it is a duty of citizenship to support the country s troops, regardless of their own beliefs and values Citizenship and Anti-war Movements * anti-war movements generally involve citizens engaged in non-violent actions, such as protests to persuade their gov t not to participate in a war

3 * the Vietnam anti-war movement a citizen s campaign against the Vietnam War began slowly. As the war dragged on with no clear victories by American troops and with more American soldiers being killed or wounded, some began to doubt the American involvement in the war in Vietnam * some doubted that the war was about freedom and equality for the people of South Vietnam and over time as the anti-war movement grew, the US gov t was eventually pressured to withdraw from Vietnam * one thing that helped the anti-war movement grow was television. Scenes of the war were shown on television as well as it reported anti-war demonstrations, which grew in size as the war continued Citizens and Government during Times of Peace * in 1984, the BBC reported that civil war and drought in Ethiopia had resulted in a massive famine * Canadians responded with great generosity by donating money, school supplies, milk and grain. Inuit communities contributed the most per person of any community in Canada

4 * the Canadian gov t gave $50 million and played a leadership role in organizing aid to Ethiopia from other donor countries * Canadian musicians donated their time and talent to raise money recording and selling a song called Tears are Not Enough. The single raised $3.2 million to help the victims of famine in Ethiopia * in 2005, musicians banded together to form Live 8 to send a message to the G8 countries about their responsibility to end extreme poverty in Africa. (This led to the G8 countries committing $50 billion more aid per year by 2010) Responding to the 2004 Tsunami * over 200,000 people died and millions more were left homeless after an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia caused a tsunami that hit countries in the Indian Ocean region * the Canadian gov t promised $425 million in aid to the tsunami victims and encouraged individual Canadians to donate money by promising that the gov t would match their personal donations ($213 million raised by Canadian citizens)

5 * the Canadian gov t also sped up the immigration process for those who had families in Canada so that they could be with loved ones Responding to Climate Change * the way citizens respond to global warming and its effects depends on how they see their rights and responsibilities regarding the environment * some people do their part by turning off lights and computers when they are not in use, composting, recycling, and conserving energy * others take a more active political role by joining political parties such as the Green Party of Canada * David Suzuki, a world-renowned scientist says that individuals can make changes in their everyday lives to slow down the effects of global warming and climate change such as buying fuel-efficient cars, take public transport, ride bikes or walk to work or school * he also says that citizens need to convince their municipal, provincial, and federal gov ts that environmental protection is everyone s responsibility and that it benefits all members of society

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