The word 'citizen' means a member
of a nation who has certain rights such as the right to vote and the right to
hold public office. The citizen is also bound by certain duties, such as the
duty to pay taxes and to defend the country in times of need.
But when one applies the word
‘ideal’ to citizen, there are more important issues involved. Who can be called
an ideal citizen? Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa once said that a good citizen is
one who earns money by following a noble profession, and spends it for the
welfare of mankind. By this definition, an ideal citizen would be the one who
earns his money honestly, lives a good life, and engages in humanitarian work
all through the lifetime.
This clearly suggests that those
who are corrupt, those who cheat others and make their living by dishonest
means are not true citizens. In my view, I can simply state that an ideal
citizen is one who has a kind of moral integrity. Whatever be his profession,
he should give his best of it. He would treat everybody equally, irrespective
of caste, creed or gender. He would be an honest man. Besides that, he would be
a humane person, and would try to help those people who are less fortunate than
himself. And he would do this all without any expectation of rewards or awards.
Of course, he would perform his social and civic duties well.
In today’s world, an ideal
citizen must also do his best to protect the environment, so that future
generations do not suffer. Moreover, he would protest against injustice of all
forms. An ideal citizen would also be tolerant to the people of all religions
and try to live in harmony with them. He would be proud of his country, and do
whatever possible to see that his nation is admired all over the world.
In short, one can say that an
ideal citizen is a good, humane person, who does his or her duty as best as he
or she can, and who always contributes his bit to the society. If all of us
strive to be ideal citizens, then our country would be an ideal and wonderful
place to live.
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