How to explain the meaning of "citizen" to a 6th grader?
My nephew Amir is ten years old and in the sixth grade. Yesterday, during a WhatsApp call, he asked me what the meaning of "citizen" is. What does it mean to be a good citizen?
I said it depends on the angle from which you look at the meaning of "citizen." Before we become citizens, we are human beings. Then, when governments want to subjugate people, they impose a series of submissive and controlling systems on people to make them obedient and docile. This means that not only do they have to pay their taxes on time, but if the government wants to resort to violence against its own citizens or wage war against another nation, it asks them to fight for the government. In short, they become a handy tool for the government because they serve the government's purpose. This is the meaning of a good citizen from the government's perspective.
Since we are living in a capitalist world, there is another definition of a citizen that you need to know. From the perspective of companies and the corporate world that are controlled by one percent, an ordinary citizen is worthless; a good citizen is the one who consumes the most.
"How?" he asks.
For example, from the perspective of corporations, you are not a good citizen when you use your legs and walk to school every day. (This is directly related to Amir's request that he made a few days ago. He has asked his mom to buy him an electric scooter so that he can commute between home and school.)
"Why?" Amir asks.
Because you are a healthy person. When you buy an electric scooter, the companies that produced that scooter are happy. The money your dad or mom earns goes directly into the pockets of the bankers and people who invest in that scooter. Their pockets get fatter while your mom and dad's pockets get emptier. And that's not the end of the story. When you are commuting the 15-minute walking distance from home to school on an electric scooter, over time you get fatter, lazier, and more bored, then one day the scooter may get out of your control or break, and you fall to the ground because you are too heavy. Your body may break in two or three places. You need to visit the doctor, and you will have to pay a significant amount of money for surgery and medication. It's not just the banks and corporations that are happy and think you're the best citizen, but the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies, the hospitals, the doctors, and the companies that are built to profit from your sick body, they are all happy because you have to pay for all these expenses, which of course falls on your mom and dad. At this point, you become the best citizen.
Oh, wait, I forgot to add. You sometimes crave soda and fast food, which are all unhealthy because they are processed and they're full of sugar, fat, and salt. They make you sick. You get heart disease or diabetes and dozens of other diseases. The more you consume, the more you become dependent on it. The more unhealthy you become, the more you are loved not only by fast food industries but also by doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies. Because you're paying them money and becoming their customer.
Do you know who is the worst citizen for these people and companies? I ask.
"No. Who is it?" he asks.
A healthy person. Someone who uses his legs walks every day to school. Someone who plays soccer for at least an hour or two a day. Someone who drinks water or tea instead of soda. Someone who eats his mom's food instead of burgers, pizza, chips, and junk food.
As I see it on my screen, a demure calmness envelops his round, innocent face, which I'm unsure is a result of satisfaction or confusion etched on it. I say, "Azizm (my dear), I have to go." I say goodbye to him. His little hand waves on the screen as I pressed the end call button.