As a human being we each have our own beliefs and customs.
have been taught to us beginning at an early age. In a democracy such as our own, every .
individual adult is a taxpayer and probably believes themselves to be a good citizen of our .
country. However we never really look at what our duties or responsibilities may be to .
fill the role of a proper citizen. During the Pelopenesian War a leader named Pericles .
believed that a good citizen is one who cares highly for his duty towards his nation. Yet .
Socrates, the Greek philospher, believed quite the opposite. He taught that you must .
question your nation and be more than a sheep following the heard. Good citizenship is .
something that is inside you. A belief that if you express makes you more than the .
average taxpayer. What the belief is may differ from others.
When taking the ideas favored by Pericles a good citizen is one who would .
never question something that is beneficial for his country. The highest honor is to fight .
gloriously for you country. "Never decline the dangers of war. For it is not the .
miserable that would most justly be unsparing of their lives; these have nothing to hope .
for. And surely, to a man of spirit, the degradation of cowardice must be immeasurably .
more grievous than the unfelt death which strikes him in the midst of his strength and .
patriotism" (Funeral Oration of Pericles, par. 11). It is clear that according to these .
beliefs a good citizens duty is to provide courage and strength for his country. This .
quote sums up the attitude in which a good citizen must present. The great sacrifice of .
death should not stop someone from their duty. Our ancestors before us have fought .
and sacrificed for what we have and we must continue this duty. Pericles believes that .
his Athenian community is the ideal community. They are a democracy in which the .
people have a power in the ruling of their country. That is why he believes that it is very .
