128 Citizenship Quotes to Inspire and Empower

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Famous Citizenship Quotes

Citizenship is the chance to make a difference to the place where you belong. — Charles Handy

Good citizenship and defending democracy means living up to the ideals and values that make this country great. — Ronald Reagan

To blend, without coercion, the individual good and the common good is the essence of citizenship in a free country. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

I am a Citizen of the World, and my Nationality is Goodwill. — Socrates

All distinctions of birth or of rank have been abolished. All citizens, whether native or adopted, are placed upon terms of precise equality. All are entitled to equal rights and equal protection. — James K. Polk

The duty of loyalty and gratitude to a homeland that provides decent and happy life for all of its citizens and residents requires that we all deeply engrave it in our hearts at all times. — Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship. - Ralph Nader

There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship. — Ralph Nader

It is a greater thing to be a good citizen than to be a good Republican or a good Democrat. — Gifford Pinchot

The only title in our democracy superior to that of President is the title of citizen. — Louis D. Brandeis

I was fortunate enough to be an American citizen by birth and I have the birth certificate to prove it. — Raul Labrador

Our true nationality is mankind. — H. G. Wells

Our true nationality is mankind. — H. G. [Herbert George] Wells

The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time. — Jackie Robinson

Political action is the highest responsibility of a citizen. — John F. Kennedy

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... But not everyone must prove they are a citizen. — Ben Stein

Short Citizenship Quotes

  • The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is bearing arms. — George S. Patton
  • The worth of the state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it. — John Stuart Mill
  • Build what you want to see in the world. — Jack Dorsey
  • Be the compromise you want to see in the world. — Mahatma Gandhi
  • He’s for real. If you look up the definition of patriotism in the dictionary, his picture is there. — Bill Miller
  • Korea is OUR country, Thailand is MY country. — Lisa Manoban
  • Be the trouble you want to see in the world. — Joey Comeau
  • Patriotism isn’t just a feeling, it’s a commitment to act on behalf of your country. — Martha C. Nussbaum
  • I am a citizen, not of Athens, or Greece, but of the world. — Socrates
  • from the slave ship to the citizenship we faced a lot of bullship — Amiri Baraka

Citizenship Image Quotes

American Citizenship Quotes

The laws should be rigidly enforced which prohibit the immigration of a servile class to compete with American labor, with no intention of acquiring citizenship, and bringing with them and retaining habits and customs repugnant to our civilization. — Grover Cleveland

As long as I live, I will never forget that day 21 years ago when I raised my hand and took the oath of citizenship. Do you know how proud I was? I was so proud that I walked around with an American flag around my shoulders all day long. — Arnold Schwarzenegger

There is no global anthem, no global currency, no certificate of global citizenship. We pledge allegiance to one flag, and that flag is the American flag. — Donald Trump

People – and I think this is particularly true of Americans – don’t like to be passive. They like to seize control. — Martha C. Nussbaum

In a world of inhumanity, war and terrorism, American citizenship is a very precious possession. — Phyllis Schlafly

...When we quietly go about our business as our rights are plundered, when we yield to passivity and switch on the wii and hand over our power, we are not acting like true Americans. Indeed, at those moments we are giving up our citizenship. — Naomi Wolf

I shall accord to myself the honor of inscribing myself as an applicant for the American citizenship which according to law I can obtain only after five years residence in this country. And I shall yield to no one of my future countrymen in patriotism. I consider America now my real home. — Wilhelm Steinitz

Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. — George Washington

Getting my library card was like citizenship; it was like American citizenship. — Oprah Winfrey

Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal feeling. — Abraham Lincoln

Dual Citizenship Quotes

Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place. — Susan Sontag

Christians have a dual citizenship - on earth and in heaven - and our citizenship in heaven ought to make us better people here on earth. — Warren W. Wiersbe

When somebody has dual citizenship and commits a crime, his Dutch passport should be revoked and he should be deported to the other country, even if he was born here. — Geert Wilders

Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. — Susan Sontag

Writing is how I communicate my deepest beliefs, and what I hope are helpful observations about our dual citizenship, as children of God, as regular old mixed-up, worried, flawed, precious human beings. — Anne Lamott

Living exclusively in the land of the head or the heart will always be a limiting, limited experience. The most successful among us have dual citizenship. — Bill Crawford

There's no issue whatsoever. Ted Cruz has dual citizenship, because his mom is a U.S. citizen, so he gets naturalized citizen as a result of that. — Donald Trump

I have dual citizenship; I would be happy to go to England. I would be very happy to go to America. — John McAfee

Active Citizenship Quotes

I’m not a politician. I don’t want to be a politician, because politicians do what is politically expedient. I want to do what’s right. — Benjamin Carson

Active citizenship begins with an envisioning of the desired outcome and a conscious application of spiritual principles. — Dennis Kucinich

Brexit has energised millions of people, young and old, to take part in our democracy and that’s a great thing. — Liz Truss

You can’t have a democracy when people don’t learn to put themselves in the shoes of another person, who can’t think what their policies mean for others. — Martha C. Nussbaum

As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end. — Adlai E. Stevenson

Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death. — Kofi Annan

Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship. — Kofi Annan

There is something inherently wrong, something out of accord with the ideals of representative democracy, when one portion of our citizenship turns its activities to private gain amid defensive war while another is fighting, sacrificing, or dying for national preservation. — Warren G. Harding

I realized that public affairs were also my affairs. I became active in politics because I saw the possibility, if we all sat back and did nothing, of a world in which there would no longer be any stages for actors to act on. — Helen Gahagan Douglas

We feel a pathway to citizenship would reward illegal activity, ... Amnesty encourages further illegal immigration. — Elaine Chao

American Citizens Quotes

With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relative, my children, my home. I have, therefore, resigned my commission in the Army. — Robert E. Lee

I am an American citizen, first class. I don't have a bade that makes me an official good guy like you, but Im work just as honest for a living. — Lucky Luciano

There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities. — Theodore Roosevelt

I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong. — George Washington

Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens. We went into slavery with chains clanking about our wrists; we came out with the American ballot in our hands. — Booker T. Washington

When it comes to my rights as an American citizen, and yours, I am a triumphalist and an absolutist. Anything less is an insult. — James Meredith

The American citizen must be made aware that today a relatively small group of people is proclaiming its purposes to be the will of the People. That elitist approach to government must be repudiated. — William E. Simon

To women, Americans of color, and the citizens of the world, Donald Trump, if he is taken at his word, represents a threat to you all. — Bret Weinstein

The Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms. — Samuel Adams

We are not a nation of immigrants. We are a nation of citizens. I am sick and tired of the American citizen being demeaned and treated as a second-class citizen while anybody who crosses the border is treated as the most virtuous human being on the face of the earth. — Mark Levin

Citizenry Quotes

Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry. — Unknown Author

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow

One cannot legislate the maniacs off the street... these maniacs can only be shut down by an armed citizenry. Indeed bad things can happen in nations where the citizenry is armed, but not as bad as those which seem to be threatening our disarmed citizenry in this country at this time. — Jeff Cooper

We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think. — Rod Serling

The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry. — William F. Buckley

WOMEN must be at the forefront of nation-building to bring the South African citizenry together and, therefore, develop a whole new ethos of human co-existence — Steven Biko

Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works. — Carl Sagan

An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy. — Thomas Jefferson

A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny. — Thomas Jefferson

I want people to see the truth... regardless of who they are... because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public. — Chelsea Manning

Good Citizenship Quotes

I have long had a tendency to tie marksmanship to morality. The essence of good marksmanship is self-control, and self-control is the essence of good citizenship. It is too easy to say that a good shot is automatically a good man, but it would be equally incorrect to ignore the connection. — Jeff Cooper

The establishment of the National Park Service is justified by considerations of good administration, of the value of natural beauty as a National asset, and of the effectiveness of outdoor life and recreation in the production of good citizenship. — Theodore Roosevelt

Finally, cooking is good citizenship. It's the only way to get serious about putting locally raised foods into your diet, which keeps farmlands healthy and grocery money in the neighborhood. — Barbara Kingsolver

Our immigration system is a broken system that needs to be fixed. We need reform that provides hardworking people of good character with a real path towards citizenship. — Joe Baca

Applied good taste is a mark of good citizenship. Ugliness is a from of anarchy.. ugly cities, ugly advertising, ugly lives produce bad citizens. — Lester Beall

... happily the Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. — George Washington

I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it results in bad government and politics. — Barack Obama

The test of good citizenship is loyalty to country. — Bainbridge Colby

Good government is no substitute for self-government. — Mahatma Gandhi

It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen. — Aristotle

People Writing About Citizenship

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Read quotes by Socrates

Socrates
quotes on love, life and education

449 10345
Read quotes by Charles Handy

Charles Handy
quotes on education, art and constitution

45 880
Read quotes by Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan
quotes on socialism, freedom and government

1059 19098
Read quotes by Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower
quotes on leadership, planning and d-day

495 12151
Read quotes by James K. Polk

James K. Polk
quotes on manifest destiny

32 902
Read quotes by Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
quotes on responsibility, stability and children

32 1

More Citizenship Quotes

Equality is the heart and essence of democracy, freedom, and justice, equality of opportunity in industry, in labor unions, schools and colleges, government, politics, and before the law. There must be no dual standards of justice, no dual rights, privileges, duties, or responsibilities of citizenship. No dual forms of freedom. — A. Philip Randolph

In the land of "I know," there is always competitiveness, jealousy, pretence, pride and arrogance. It is an aggressive realm - the realm of the ego. I say refuse citizenship. In the land of "I dont know," the inhabitants move without conflict and are naturally quiet, happy and peaceful. The wise stay here. — Mooji

The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country — George S. Patton

If I had to choose between baseball’s Hall of Fame and first class citizenship for all of my people. I would say first-class citizenship. — Jackie Robinson

If I knew something that would serve my country but would harm mankind, I would never reveal it; for I am a citizen of humanity first and by necessity, and a citizen of France second, and only by accident — Baron de Montesquieu

Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent... The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words. — John Diefenbaker

It is not the function of government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error. — Robert H. Jackson

Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind. — James Meredith

Democracy is the most demanding of all forms of government in terms of the energy, imagination, and public spirit required of the individual. — George C. Marshall

Above all, I would teach him to tell the truth Truth-telling, I have found, is the key to responsible citizenship. The thousands of criminals I have seen in 40 years of law enforcement have had one thing in common: Every single one was a liar. — J. Edgar Hoover

The United States is the most prosperous nation in the world, and yet our citizenship has been comprehensively reduced to consumerism... Buy and ye shall be happy. But what have we truly purchased? In the words of my favorite poet, Henry David Thoreau, 'The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,' our lives prostrate at the altar of the false gods of our instant-gratification society. — Rich Roll

We want the full works of citizenship with no reservations. We will accept nothing less . . . This condition of freedom, equality, and democracy is not the gift of gods. It is the task of men, yes, men, brave men, honest men, determined men. — A. Philip Randolph

The notion of human right builds on our shared humanity. These rights are not derived from the citizenship of any country, or the membership of any nation, but are presumed to be claims or entitlements of every human being. They differ, therefore, from constitutionally created rights guaranteed for specific people. — Amartya Sen

The majority of the Jordanian population is now Palestinian; when the Israelis occupied the West Bank in 1967, many Palestinians fled to Jordan which was the only Arab state to grant them citizenship. — Tim Marshall

There's no such thing as second class citizenship. That's like telling me you can be a little bit pregnant. — H. Rap Brown

Let’s cut the top rates of stamp duty to enable more movement to take place and also looking at the broader tax reform, simplifying our tax system. — Liz Truss

We're also encouraging all these worst elements to come in and camp and effectively enjoy the fruits of citizenship without earning United States and without ever having qualified for United States. — Douglas Macgregor

It’s similar to what sailors feel when they are out at sea – if they meet another ship, they probably feel some kind of brotherhood; it doesn’t matter which flag is on the ship. — Sergei Krikalev

The fact is I do feel very Spanish, like when I’m talking to my wife and daughter in Spanish at two in the afternoon. I even think in Spanish when I get angry! — Antoine Griezmann

Society, during the last hundred years, has been alternately perplexed and encouraged, respecting the two great questions -how shall the criminal and pauper be disposed of, in order to reduce crime and reform the criminal on the one hand, and, on the other, to diminish pauperism and restore the pauper to useful citizenship? — Dorothea Dix

The true courage of civilized nations is readiness for sacrifice in the service of the state, so that the individual counts as only one amongst many. The important thing here is not personal mettle but aligning oneself with the universal. — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Derek Bok's most recent book, Our Underachieving Colleges, is worth scrutinizing. . . . Bok is . . . on solid ground in pointing out that our colleges underachieve in preparing students for citizenship. — George Leef

When carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense is understood NOT as a failure of civil society, to be mourned, but as an act of citizenship, to be vaunted, there is little civilian life left. — Jill Lepore

I risked what I did to improve the nation. We wanted to make what we loved better and make it more deserving of that love. — James L. Farmer, Jr.

At the 1894 ALA conference it was fairly well agreed that the primary goal of the public library must be to teach good citizenship. Libraries recognized that such "Americanization" could be achieved through literacy. Thus, teaching immigrants to read was not just a benefit in and of itself; literacy would also serve the interests of democracy. — Kevin Mattson

I believe that all women should have children. I think women are made to have children and to be mothers. I also think women have to have an identity outside the home. — Diane Von Furstenberg

Full democracy requires the full participation of women. Your voices are vital. The word 'vital' means necessary for life. A democracy, to be fully alive, must include all its citizens. — Swanee Hunt

In Conclusion

Many quotes about citizenship also emphasize the value of good character and moral behavior. They encourage individuals to be honest, respectful, and compassionate towards others, promoting the idea that being a responsible citizen means being a good person. These quotes highlight the role of citizens in building and maintaining a strong and harmonious society, emphasizing the need for cooperation, tolerance, and understanding among all members. They inspire individuals to take pride in their citizenship and strive towards making a positive difference in their community, ultimately contributing to the progress and well-being of their nation as a whole.

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