Importance of Becoming a Global Citizen (Assignment)

1 Assignment Importance of Becoming a Global Citizen 2 The Importance of Becoming a Global Citizen: Importance of Becoming a Global Citizen What does it mean to be a citizen? Now broaden that horizon to a citizen of a nation, now the country, now the world. The definition of a citizen is an individual that adheres to the laws, regulations, and stipulations set forth by the city, country, or government system in return for privelidges or rights. Apply the term of citizen to the world, and now think about how becoming a global citizen has impacted the decisions made for the world as a whole rather than just separate entities. Throughout this paper there are going to be a few major implications to becoming a global citizen, what that may entail, and how to keep it going. Understanding Globalism vs. Globalization Globalism is a theory; an ideology that "revolutionizes the certainties of the past and inserts entire populations into a more open, changing and diverse world, often enhancing the array of options of how and where to live their lives" (Arditi, 2004, p. 9). Though globalism plays a large role in globalization, as the two go hand in hand, with circumstantial differences. Globalization is more of a means or way to ensue globalism beliefs, the act of modernizing nations to connect with technology, products, even new jobs that enhance a way of living for people. According to Stuke (2009) many economists believe that globalization is a process of delocalization, a way of broadening multinational businesses that increase the ability to communize and thrive in countries across the world with unity (2:43-3:05). Building A Basis of Global Citizenship Being a citizen of a nation is different than being a global citizen; national citizen pertains to one country or place in the world, whereas global citizen entails united connections around the world in more than one country or place. Many of America's job connections expand to various 3 countries such as China or India, and broadens the range of communicative technology advances that continue to enhance the way of living for the world rather than just one country individually. Being able to utilize advanced technology helps to expand the cultural understanding of different nationalities, providing insight to new information which can further the connection between personal, academic, or even professional goals. Outcomes Towards Global Citizenship Social Justice In the article by Reysen and Katzarska (2013), social justice was centered around the idea that any country well-off, or within the means of helping less fortunate countries should (p. 862). The idea of global service is welcomed with social justice; seeking ways to help support human life in terms of food, water, and shelter regardless of where that individual resides. The importance of this outcome towards becoming a global citizen is that the responsibility of accountability for human wellbeing should come first as an ethical and moral standing. If one country falls, it is not only that country that will suffer. Any country or anywhere else in the world, will feel the effects of that failing country and the sustainability of a helping hand would help to rebalance natural living conditions. If one country holds all of the weight of resource, health care availability, luscious living conditions, while other countries suffer - then that one country is unethically affecting global conditions. Environmental Sustainability The meaning of environmental sustainability is to conserve, meaning instead of building a supply for wealth or abundance, materials such as food, water, and shelter should rely only on the need for the resource rather than the want (Reysen & Katzarska, 2013, p. 862). This outcome is extremely important in becoming a global citizen because what one person does affects the 4 next, and if one person has more than they absolutely need, they are taking from someone who has nothing. One major concern for the world is that there are three main classes of social status based on financial standing; the wealthy or rich, the middleclass, and the poor or poverty. Individuals who have nothing, settle for only what they need to sustain, while those who have greed and wealth tend to focus only on keeping what they have rather than sharing it with those in need. This means that while one person thrives, another is starving. The world has replenishing resource, but all things can come to an end, which means if the world runs out of resources, it is because of greed and lack of environmental sustainability within the global citizenship. Becoming a Global Citizen First Personal Example on Social Justice When I was younger, after growing up in a middleclass wealthy family, I had this mental image of what the world looked like. It had no poverty, no starving children, and no decline in the economy. As I grew up and separated myself from my family, I met my husband who showed me how distorted my view of the world seemed. We were young, in our late teens, and I came to see how quickly people I knew could starve, or lose their roof, or a job. Seeing that difference opened my eyes, and I could finally see the world for what it was, a place where too many suffer at the hands of death because of the wealthy being greedy. My husband showed me what it was like to feel good, to give someone in need the last few dollars you have in your pocket because they need it more than you. To buy someone whose starving something to eat because they need it just like you, the only difference is circumstance and willingness to change the views on the world. While I have no financial means to support anyone outside of my household, because I 5 am struggling myself, I do my best to support the way people respond or think about situations revolving around global citizenship and making things better as a whole. Second Personal Example on Environmental Sustainability While I may not have riches, I am wealthy with love. Having a large family means needing more resources, and that means learning to conserve. Unfortunately the idea of environmental sustainability within my household has little effect because we eat only when we need to already. Though the ideology of global citizenship with environmental sustainability hosts the effects of the world's communities, I want to contribute the best I can by not being wasteful. My young son told me once, and it changed my views of things, was that we should plant an apple tree in a random place where there are lots of people. When I asked him why, he said to get the fruit, and so I explained that an apple tree would take years to grow and he may never get to see it again or pluck it's fruit. He told me that it was okay because the tree was there for anyone who was hungry or needed something to eat. He wanted to plant the tree so everyone could eat, not just himself. Children are so selfless, but the moral of that story is that instead of just making ends meet, build a future that may not benefit yourself, but instead it benefits the many. That is the best way to become a global citizen, by caring for others enough to make sure that there is more given than taken. Past Experience Two courses that I have taken which enhanced my vision for becoming a global citizen are PHI208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning, and HHS320 Cultural Awareness in the Human Services. In PHI208, I learned the standards for morals and ethics, those which pertained to the most humanistic needs and satisfactions. Throughout that course I learned what it meant to become a decent human being, and that not everyone had morals, or good ethics. Global 6 citizenship is about becoming better not for oneself, but for the mass, because what is good for the one is good for the many, and also what is good for the one may not be good for the many. Ethics and moral reasoning plays a critical role in understanding what is going to benefit the many rather than the one, and doing it for the betterment of the world rather than for personal gain. In HHS320 I learned how different cultures are, and how those differences can hinder the idea of what it means to be a global citizen. Most countries are now self-sufficient, meaning they rely on themselves to manage. However, by understanding the diversity within cultures, a global understanding of what would help everyone thrive rather than just one particular place is a key factor in becoming a global citizen. If everyone focused on only the betterment of their own cultures, or those in their community, then the world would end up fighting one another for the same things. However, if everyone focused on what the world needed as a whole, putting together the differences of cultures so that the benefit was far spreading and wholesome, the world may become a better place. Conclusion There are a multitude of things that can be done to become a global citizen, but it first starts with an understanding of what that entails. Not only through being open to social justice and willing to support environmental sustainability, global citizenship is about accountability first and foremost. Being an individual that not only supports but is willing to make the change needed for the world to thrive is a tremendous first step in the right direction. Being able to work as a team, the entire world not just one or two countries can make a difference.