Journal 1
(current conceptions of citizenship)
One of Aristotle’s arguments of being a good citizen is specialization. He believes that it is a good citizen’s duty to pursue a singular role in their community in which they are skilled. He also asserts that everyone should work toward the common good but also believes that no one would be willing to do so unless they had something at stake in the matter. During my first week in Venice I observed a Venetian citizen being an active citizen. His actions could be considered acts of good citizenship, but they could also be considered acts of bad citizenship depending on what perspective one takes. My experience was during the first week on my tour with Roberta. During the tour we passed a sign that said “the gardens are open.” We were interested by the sign because recently the gardens haven’t typically been open, so we entered the gardens. When we got into the garden area we met a student of the local university, Jackomo. He explained to us that the gardens are owned by the local university and are supposed to be a community area for the citizens of Venice. He said that they typically also serve as a playground for the local elementary school whenever the children have recess. However, of late the university has closed off the gardens with the reasoning being that the pollution of the city has corrupted the integrity of the garden and that it needed to be preserved. Many of the local university students, however, believe that this reasoning is flawed due to the fact that every part of the city is equally polluted. This citizen is one of a few students who have decided to occupy the gardens. Since the garden belongs to the university, the students there still have access to the garden. So Jackomo and some of his friends make sure that at least one of them is in the garden throughout the day so that they can leave it open for the community to visit it. With Venice being the type of city that it is, there are not many places to find some grass and trees for a little solace. These students believe that it is wrong for the university to deprive the citizens of this small joy. The students from the elementary school are still unable to use the garden for recess, but the university students have been able to keep the gardens open for the rest of the public thus far. On one hand, this is viewed as good citizenship because these students are keeping the community at large in mind when they occupy the gardens. However, this is also viewed as poor citizenship because these gardens are private property of the university, so allowing the public in is illegal.
The qualification of citizenship isn’t always black and white. In situations such as this one I believe that it is easy for the line between a good citizen and a bad citizen to become blurred. Jackomo’s intentions were good; however, he had to participate in illegal activity to express his beliefs. Though this example can fall into a bit of a gray area, it is most definitely an example of active citizenship. Without active citizenship there could be no progression forward; there could be no change. It’s important for citizens to take an active role in their community so that they and the other members of the community are able to gain the maximum level of benefits from what the community has to offer.
I feel as if this example actually counters some of Aristotle’s assertions that we covered in class. As previously mentioned, Aristotle believed that each person had their role in the community and that they best served the community by fulfilling that role. He also believed that people had to be involved in an issue in order to care. In this instance, these students demonstrated how you can fulfill multiple roles in the community. They serve as both students and protectors of the common good. In addition, they also demonstrated how people don’t always necessarily have to have something to lose in order to care about a conflict. All of these students had full access to the gardens; however, they put themselves at risk in order to provide access to all the public because they felt that that was what is best for the greater community. In this way, I feel as if this experience taught me two things. First of all, pertaining to class, I realized that Aristotle’s model of citizenship isn’t necessarily applicable in today’s society. It is a more applicable model than Plato’s very idealistic model, but it still isn’t necessarily a very accurate model. Second of all, I learned that citizenship is a very complex subject matter that can’t always be categorized or compartmentalized. Now that I’m finally starting to understand the complexity of citizenship my only question is, how can I best use my new found knowledge?
The qualification of citizenship isn’t always black and white. In situations such as this one I believe that it is easy for the line between a good citizen and a bad citizen to become blurred. Jackomo’s intentions were good; however, he had to participate in illegal activity to express his beliefs. Though this example can fall into a bit of a gray area, it is most definitely an example of active citizenship. Without active citizenship there could be no progression forward; there could be no change. It’s important for citizens to take an active role in their community so that they and the other members of the community are able to gain the maximum level of benefits from what the community has to offer.
I feel as if this example actually counters some of Aristotle’s assertions that we covered in class. As previously mentioned, Aristotle believed that each person had their role in the community and that they best served the community by fulfilling that role. He also believed that people had to be involved in an issue in order to care. In this instance, these students demonstrated how you can fulfill multiple roles in the community. They serve as both students and protectors of the common good. In addition, they also demonstrated how people don’t always necessarily have to have something to lose in order to care about a conflict. All of these students had full access to the gardens; however, they put themselves at risk in order to provide access to all the public because they felt that that was what is best for the greater community. In this way, I feel as if this experience taught me two things. First of all, pertaining to class, I realized that Aristotle’s model of citizenship isn’t necessarily applicable in today’s society. It is a more applicable model than Plato’s very idealistic model, but it still isn’t necessarily a very accurate model. Second of all, I learned that citizenship is a very complex subject matter that can’t always be categorized or compartmentalized. Now that I’m finally starting to understand the complexity of citizenship my only question is, how can I best use my new found knowledge?