A Good Citizen

Un bon citoyen

appreciates their country
gives back to his community
pays taxes
votes, understands current events, helps others
who cares about their homeland, keeps up with the news and actively
participates in local and federal politics
who does what is right for everyone
who doesn't take advantage.
who follows the law and does good deeds
who gets past political rhetoric and listens/leans for themselves,
votes Democrat
who is aware and involved in their community
who is concerned about their government and their society.
who is honest
who is proud of their county
who puts in their share of time and effort to make the country go
who takes an active and constructive role in society
who takes responsibility for his or her own actions.
who votes
who votes.
who works to improve the lives of others.

a conscience qu'il ne vit pas seul, qui respecte les biens publiques,
et qui sait que sa liberté s'arrête là où
commence celle des autres
agit dans l'intéret de la communauté
est capable de juger l'impact de ses décisions et de choisir
en conséquence.
qui a des droits et des devoirs envers les autres
qui a du civisme
qui effectue ses devoirs, qui n'enfreint pas les lois
qui participe à la vie de sa ville, village
qui respecte la loi
qui respecte la loi
qui respecte la loi et les autres, qui respecte ses devoirs
qui respecte sa nation, ses droits et devoirs.
qui respecte ses droits et ses devoirs
qui sait respecter autrui,qui sait se comporter en société,
qui remplit ses devoirs ou fait valoir ses droits (voter)
qui va voter
qui va voter et qui respecte les autres
qui vote
qui vote et qui participe à la vie politique et sociale de son pays
qui vote, respecte les autres
respecte les règles et ne porte pas atteinte à la vie d'autrui

Discussion

Bonjour,

Qu'est-ce que la démocratie pour vous?

FRançois

Personally, I would say that democracy is a system in which you vote and have some sway even if it is small. I think many americans consider having the right to vote a huge part of living in a democracy and it is unfortunate that not many people take more advantage of this. Our past elections have been rather indecisive and perhaps if more people had voted their could have been a clearer winner. Civil liberties and having individual freedom is important for democracy as well.

I see Democracy as having rights and civil liberties. The right to vote is a huge part of this because the people can choose who they want to represent them. Also freedom of speech is very important. No one is able to control what you say or think. Democracy goes hand in hand with freedom and independence.

A democracy relies solely upon the voice of the citizens. In our democracy, a republican democracy, voting directly for laws or for the election of our representatives is the most important tool we have to shape our government. Some people, however, have taken this right for granted, and unfortunately are not actually participating in the government at all. I think the average voter turnout for national elections has been something like 50% for a long while.

Ideally, democracy is the equality of all citizens in government. The enforcement and the assurance of this equality is through the vote.

-Alex

Beaucoup d'étudiants français ont associé un bon citoyen avec le fait de voter. Or de moins en moins de jeunes ( entre 18 et 25 ans) participent aux élections. Qu'en est-il aux Etats-Unis?

In general, youth voting had been on the decline here as well, but the last election was very popular (Kerry vs Bush) with young voters. Many national programs such as "Rock the Vote" try to popularize youth voting and rally young voters (age 18 - 25) to register and vote during presidential elections, but in general of the millions of youth who wind up registering to vote, only a small percentage of them actually vote. In the 2004 election (Kerry vs Bush), 52% of young adults voted represented the highest youth turnout in more than a decade.

Est-ce que quelqu'un peu m'expliquer pourquoi être un bon citoyen, c'est voter démocrate? Je voudrais en savoir un peu plus! A l'inverse, je serais également intéressée par le commentaire d'une personne pensant qu'être un bon citoyen, c'est voter républicain! J'aimerais pouvoir comparer les deux points de vue!!

This response may have been meant to be sort of funny but there could be some truth to it. I'm sure that Democrats think that they are doing the right thing by voting for those politicians that they believe will help the country, and in turn, they are being good citizens. I could continue with my personal political views but I think thats the sense of this response in general.

There is some variation in the French responses between roles a citizen plays on a national level and the roles that one plays locally. For the French, is the more important part of being a good citizen based on the nation or the community or some combination?

je pense qu'à partir du moment où tu es un citoyen, tu dois l'être autant au niveau local qu'au niveau national. Si tu considères qu'il est plus important d'être un bon citoyen au niveau national et que tu laisses le niveau local de côté, alors tu n'es pas un vrai citoyen.

Pour ma part, les deux niveaux sont aussi importants l'un que l'autre.

Et toi qu'en penses-tu?

I think that there are two senses of the word in English. In one sense, the more general sense, it is a person who volunteers, does not break the law, and contributes to the community in a positive way. These are all local actions. In the other sense, the citizen of the nation votes, perhaps serves in the military, and respects national ideals.

These two definitions combine to generate mixed connotations. And like you explained with the French, I think it's a pretty even division. But I feel that Americans almost have two different words in this one, defined nationally or locally depending on the context. Therefore, there isn't one good citizen; there are really two. I apologize if that is confusing, I'm not sure I fully understand it myself!

peut etre ai-je mal compris mais pour vous il y a deux sens pour le mot "citizen" mais le deuxième m'a plus choqué que le premier: car pourêtre cioyen il faut respecter les idéaux nationaux'? pas forcément! c'est difficile d'expliquer cela mais tout le monde n'est pas forcément en accord avec ce que dit le gouvernement ni encore moins avec ce qu'il fait.

Sorry, I think that I didn't explain that well. I was referring to national ideals such as liberty, justice, and democracy. The good citizen respects these things but does not necessarily agree with the government of the day. Being in a good citizen in this sense might entail objecting to the government if one disagrees.

However, there are some in the US that would call someone who criticizes the government a bad citizen and unpatriotic. I think these people are a minority though.

En France, être un bon citoyen, c'est s'intéresser à ce qui se passe dans le pays et participer, ce qui se fait lors d'élections par exemple. Néanmoins certains peuvent faire beaucoup de choses au niveau local, pourtant, ce n'est pas la majorité des citoyens. C'est beau de dire qu'un bon citoyen doit également agir au niveau national, mais c'est parfois si inefficace.........

In the American responses, and in American culture, there is a big emphasis on community service. In order to be a good citizen, one should give back to the community or help others. I think that this comes from the emphasis on community service in schools (colleges care about how active you were in high school, high schools push and sometimes require certain hours of community service). Is it the same in France? Do schools require a certain number of community service hours to graduate? Is community service a factor in being accepter into a college?

"Community service" n'existe pas pour les élèves en France, ce n'est pas pris en compte dans le cursus scolaire. Ce n'est donc pas un facteur qui joue pour être accepté dans une école. En quoi cela consiste-t-il aux Etats-unis?

In the US, there is a rather large emphasis on community service. It is expected in some form or another on most resumes. There is, therefore, the suspicion that some are do community service soley for the purpose of resume building. However, I believe that most people volunteer with good intentions - that is, to be a good citizen.

est-ce qu'il est vraiment indispensable d'aimer son pays et d'en être fier pour être un bon citoyen? qu'entendez vous par l'aimer et en être fier? est-ce alors adhérer a tous ses principes? sa politique?...

Personally, i feel it is extremely necessary to like the country you live in and to be proud of where ones country stands in the world market. Adhering by a countrys principles is an important part of being a good citizen. if one plays by a country's rules, it sets an example for other citizens. In the end tis as a whole benefits the entire nation. Supporting your country in sport events, political rallys etc are all part of country pride. is this not a big concept in France

la politique n'est pas vue de la même manière en France.Comme les "political rallys.." on pense que la politique est importante mais la politique aux US est vue comme un gros show TV!ca commence doucement à arriver en France ce type de show à"l'américaine".votre politique à vous est très médiatisée.avec les décors(ballons...)on dirait que les politiciens sont des stars hollywoodiennes!Je pense aussi que c'est important d'aimer un minimum le pays dans lequel on vit mais pas forcément d'en aimer les représentants car ils ne représentent pas toujours ce que l'on est.Pour moi être un bon citoyen c'est bien jouer son rôle :aller voter pour faire entendre sa voix,connaitre et respecter ses droits et ses devoirsn et connaitre les limites à ne pas dépasser

It is not necessary to praise one's country to be proud of it. I love the United States as much as the next person, but I won't defend it as if it were infallible. Some of the best things about the United States are its problems, our freedom of expression to complain about them and our power to fix them through reform.

I am proud of my country, but that does not qualify me as a good citizen. There are lots of people who are fantastic citizens who vote, give back to their community, etc. who dislike the current state of the nation. On the other hand, there are people who worship the United States unquestioningly who take their rights and powers for granted.

-Alex

I don't know if it is necessary to be proud of one's country to be a good citizen...

I am not particularly fond of a lot that goes on in America. I think that the government is run by liars and slimebags, and it scares me. There are not nearly enough honest people in politics. But that would probably be too much to ask for.

I am not proud of a lot that this country does, but I am proud of it in other aspects. I believe that our country is still young, and has a lot of potential. However, it isn't entirely certain how to appropriately exercise its power yet, and this is a problem. While I disagree with a lot that occurs here, I still try to participate as best as I can, and I try to function as a good citizen by taking care of my individual responsibilities. I just hope that things get better...

que veut dire le mot "slimebags"?merci

Bonjour, certains d'entre vous ont mentionné la notion de patriotisme au sujet de la citoyenneté alors que ce genre de réponse est totalement absent du coté français. Comment expliquez- vous cela? Un bon citoyen doit-il forcément aimer son pays et "promouvoir" l'image de son pays à travers le monde?

Elodie

Pour nous un citoyen a des droits et des devoirs. Le devoir le plus important est le celui d'aller voter. Ce droit( et devoir) est accordé aux Français majeurs(18ans).

A quel age pouvez vous voter? Y a-t-il des conditions à remplir?

Elodie

engage