36 Desiree

Desiree Fernandez

The price and promise of citizenship

Regardless of social status, yearly income, or outside appearances, every American shares the same rights because of their citizenship. It is amazing how little we pay attention to how incredibly lucky we as Americans are to have these rights handed to us. It makes me immensely grateful to know that as a proud citizen I can enjoy and appreciate all that The United States has to offer.

Most Americans tend to ask the same question; "What more can I get?", but maybe if we all asked "What more can I do to keep what I already have?", we'd be better off. Its harder to appreciate that we have more than any other country than it is to be selfish and I only see the grass less green. How much would we pay for citizenship? Not normally the question we ask ourselves, but it is a good one indeed. Would we sacrifice as much as our forefathers did? I personally would sacrifice my all without regret. You cannot truly put a price on citizenship because it is priceless there is nothing more sweet and meaningful than being able to live your life the way you choose to live it and not have someone dictate everything you say or do.

I live my life how I choose everyday. As a child I may have to listen to what my parents say, follow the rules they choose to enforce, and I may think that I am being treated unfairly but then I remember that I have more freedom than almost any country could wish for. I do expect to get up every morning free as the next. As a country we owe it to our founders to keep The United States free and just, to make sure that all citizens are represented with the same rights, and to always abide by the constitution. This also requires our respect and contribution as citizens. If we do not vote we will never have a say in how our country is ran and our rights will not be ours.
All politicians should always do whats right and just to keep their fellow citizens safe. It is quite disappointing that this is not always the case, but even though we have some dirty scandalous people running our country a lot of others must be doing the right thing because our country is still filled with grand liberty. This is all I have ever expected from citizenship and it is all I could need from it.

The price and promise of citizenship, there is no exact definition, no perfect sentence or essay, nothing could truly describe the over powering feeling of being free, realizing what we would give for our freedom, being fully aware of what it is, and knowing in our heart what we want from it. To think that most of us get up every morning and think of it as a given, how absolutely incorrect are we?