Being a productive citizen is not about merely being present, but about taking an active role in one's environment. It's about reaching out: cultivating leadership and perpetuating "Tikkun Olam," the perfection of our world.
I am an active citizen in many regards. I am a citizen of all groups, organizations, communities, ehtnicities, nationalities and regions of which I associate myself with or feel a connection to. On a personal level, I don't feel as though citizenship must be dictated by ownership or proprietorship over some tangible entity or physical region, but rather is more of a choice, a purposeful one at that.
As the book said, there are multiple skills and knowledge that can make one's civic contributions more beneficial to a group at large, but unlike some of the ideas which the book presents, I think that these skills cannot be taught nor learned, but rather must be obtained over time through active engagement within said group.
As a "citizen" of Ohio State's campus I definitely feel empowered (which is probably obvious due to the fact that I have chosen to be a RG in addition to participating in various other organizations on our campus). However, just as the book discussed there are many members of the Ohio State community who feel disenfranchised. I feel as though one of our jobs as RGs is to reach out to these people (in particular freshman women) and show them how they too can become empowered.
Another group of which I consider myself a citizen is the Jewish community. One of the greatest knowledge bases I have and one, which has shaped me into becoming the women I am today is the basic understanding of the issues surrounding our community in the past a present. Oppressed Jewry is still a major concern in our society and as the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor I can better empathize with other groups who are not able to practice their beliefs as freely as I am able to today.
Finally, the third group of which I would like to discuss my citizenship of is that of a business major as part of the Fisher College of Business. The section of the book which referred to coalition building distinctly reminded me of the necessary networking and communication skills that being a business student requires. It is important that all business units support and understand the contributions of one another and that problems are solved through the use of cross-functional teams.
I really liked how you described ‘citizenship’ as more of a choice than a tangible entity of ownership. By the way the book gave more insight and meaning to this word, really showed that how we incorporate our influence of ‘citizenship’ can make if a difference in society if we choose to make that happen. I also liked your relation to coalition building and Fisher College of Business. I never looked at citizenship in a way pertaining to Fisher. I’m also studying business and networking and communication skills are so important from a career standpoint. We can even relate those communication skills we learn to helping be more approachable to our new potential members and comforting them into the new recruitment process.
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