CITIZENSHIP AND YOU

[Music] sure Buzz I can make it 8:30 you said okay yeah I've got most of it done well I finished my geometry and the physics and English I figure I can get the Spanish done tomorrow in school besides it isn't due until Thursday oh that's right Civics I almost forgot well that shouldn't be too hard all I have to do is complete a list of the qualities I think make up a good citizen sure it's an easy assignment I ought to be able to finish in about a half hour after I get back from the meeting yeah yeah all right Buzz I'll be there at 8:30 see you bye big meeting tonight no not too big dad just a few of us getting together to talk over plans for the school cancer Crusade mhm cancer Crusade huh Community Action hm I said Community Action you know citizenship isn't there something like participation in community action on your citizenship list nope I can't find it Well maybe I've got it down here but in different words you want to take a look sure be glad to a good citizen a good citizen is aware of his privilege a good citizen is aware of his obligations a good citizen attempts to make his community a better one for all people a good citizen keeps well informed of Civic events that may not concern him personally I think you've got community action pretty well covered this is the start of a good list Larry how long did it take you to do this oh about a half an hour I suppose well writing about good citizenship is is one thing living good citizenship is another oh sure Dad but I won't really be involved in citizenship until I'm old enough to vote Larry you're wrong there right now you're living good citizenship just as much as I am what do you mean I think I can show you that you're just as much a good citizen as I am okay all right let's start with your list a good citizen is aware of his privileges now one of these privileges is voting and I don't mean just voting in national elections either every election is important when our neighbors and I vote we indicate the way we think certain issues of government should be handled that's what I tried to explain to Charlie Gray last month when we had our election you know Charlie runs the clothing store on mccormic Boulevard well business was good that day so he wasn't sure he could take time off to vote but you know how I felt about that election I tried to persuade Charlie that his one vote was important that voting was one of the ways he made his opinions known to people in government I don't know if Charlie voted that day I hope so to have your views heard and your vote counted those are very real privileges of citizenship now you've had an experience just like that I mean an experience where you knew how important it was to vote I have sure what about that student council election a couple of months ago how important was your vote then H wasn't a friend of yours let me think Joan Benton running for office well if you put it that way maybe my voting in that student council election was important I've known Joan ever since we were freshman so when she decided to run for the student council I figured the least I could do was to help her campaign I think I must have talked to more than half the kids at school trying to convince them that Joan would do a good job in office I really believed that she would do a good job yes she was my friend but she also knew the issues involved and her opinions about them seem right to me other kids felt the same way when election day came practically everybody turned out to vote after helping Joan campaign I began to realize that voting was probably the easiest part of an election sizing up the issues and choosing the right candidates was the really tough job sure it can be a tough job voting may be a privilege of citizenship but learning to vote intelligently is an obligation of citizenship well actually then I've been taking the Privileges of citizenship without even knowing it that's right I'm glad you realize that good citizenship does mean you as well as me yeah but doesn't mean me I mean well okay so a kid like me can vote in a student election but that's about it the whole story the whole story no no I don't think so we were talking about obligations remember let's take another look at your list a good citizen is aware of his obligations all right let me tell you about an experience I had that drove that point home to me and see if it doesn't remind you of a similar experience couple of weeks ago your Aunt Rose got a letter in the mail at first she was a little worried but the letter turned out to be a request for Rose to work as an election Watcher in a way it was an honor still she'd have to be on duty from 6:00 in the morning till late at night well then who would take care of the house and watch juty on Election Day of course there would be inconveniences Rose knew still somebody had to be an election Watcher the obligations of citizenship go beyond your own home so on Election Day Rose's Family were on their own and it wasn't easy yet in their own way they were fulfilling their obligations of citizenship just as Rose was fulfilling her by taking on a job of election Watcher this is what it boils down to sometimes things come up that are bigger than our personal affairs when things like that do happen that like the time you served on a jury and had to take time off from work for two weeks it wasn't the best time to take off from work either but as I said when things like that do happen then we simply have to give up for a while what we want to do personally and that's what being aware of obligations mean see all right now how do the obligations of citizenship affect fellas and girls of your age I don't know oh come on now you haven't forgotten your sister's class dance already have you oh that yeah I guess you're right Dad probably Peggy didn't think of it that way I remember the day a couple of her friends asked her to be on the committee to choose the decorations for her class dance I think then she started to be aware of the obligations of good citizenship py wasn't sure she'd be able to help after all there was the problem of shopping around for a formal and finding the time to do her homework and helping Mom around the house these were things she had to do but at home that night she thought it over by giving up her spare time for a couple of weeks she'd make a lot of people happy if the girl still wanted her she'd be glad to help on the committee they still wanted her all right and for the next month or so every minute of Peggy's spare time and her girlfriend's was spent in planning that dance I suppose that's one of the reasons why the dance turned out to be such a terrific success and maybe it was partly because of Peggy's ideas went into it you might say that's one of the basic things of good citizenship Larry it helps us work and live together for the good of most people you got it right here on your list a good citizen attempts to make his community a better one for all people now that can sometimes be a real problem how so well there are times when it's hard to figure out exactly how to make your community a better one let me put it there this way you know that large Viaduct we have out at the south end of Chestnut Street while I've never known it to fail it'll always flood after a rain it makes for Dangerous driving and it slows down traffic try to get down to work on time when you have to drive through that on a rainy day well storm sewers at that end of town would take care of the situation some of our neighbors got together and Drew up a petition asking the city council to take action they've asked me to put my name on the petition too but I don't know storm sewers would clear up a bad traffic problem still it will mean higher taxes and I'm not sure that I can afford to pay higher taxes well are you going to sign the petition I don't know it's one of those things that Mr average citizen me will have to think over very carefully I think you should sign it you don't pay taxes yeah that's true enough but I think everyone's interested in having the place where they work or live look like something they can be proud of yes but and it's an important butt too good citizenship shouldn't stop at what the people in a particular Community want or do as the fourth thing on your list says a good citizen keeps well informed of Civic events that may not concern him personally just a minute Dad I think I can save you the trouble I know what that one means right now some of the kids are getting together at Buzz's house to figure out a way we can help in this year's cancer Crusade you know something like doing the leg work on door-to-door contributions anything so long as we know that what we do may help some people no matter what community they live in so in a way I guess we're practicing that side of citizenship without even thinking about it say you know I've been practicing good citizenship all along yes you have there's a lot to it isn't there there sure is I thought these were just things to write down for an assignment but actually good citizenship helps to get things done and makes living with people a little bit more well satisfying you might say say I'm going to be late for that meeting but what about your Civics assignment aren't you going to complete the list oh sure I will dad as soon as I get back I think I'll be able to do a better job now that I know that good citizenship means me too thanks a lot for the tips you're welcome I'm sure tell M I'll be home early okay well I think he understands that good citizenship is for him I wonder just how you'll complete this list of the qualities of a good citizen I wonder how I'd complete it got any ideas [Music]