What does it take to be a good citizen?

Recently I was asked what does it take to be a good citizen?  

As I was coming up with my list, I realized that the basic rules of being a good citizen were taught to me at a young age – in kindergarten, actually.  Here’s my partial list:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Don’t litter.
• Take a nap every afternoon.

The same question was recently asked to a group of Filipinos.  While their responses were a bit more sophisticated than my kindergarten list, the responses were much the same:  share ideas, volunteer, clean up messes etc.  all of which illustrated that being a good citizen is certainly not a western idea – but a universal one.



A few years ago, the American poet, Robert Fulghum wrote: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.  In this book Mr. Fulghum lists lessons normally learned in American kindergarten classrooms and explains how the world would be improved if adults adhered to the same basic rules as children, i.e. sharing, being kind to one another, cleaning up after themselves, and living "a balanced life" of work, play, and learning.  Just the basic rules of being a good citizen.  Oh, and having a nap every afternoon isn’t a bad idea either.
 
Tweet this:  ​Being a good citizen is not just a western idea – but a universal one. 

Tweet this: What does it take to be a good citizen? Filipinos weigh in.