CARE

What is a global citizen? The Internet describes a global citizen as, “A person who applies the concept of citizenship to a global level, and is strongly connected with the concepts of globalization and cosmopolitanism.” But what does this mean? The CARE model, which is a set of guidelines developed by Me to We, attempts to help explain what it means to be a global citizen. The acronym CARE stands for compassion, action, responsibility and equality. All of these qualities are important in respects to becoming a global citizen and a respectable role model.

In ranking these qualities in order of importance, I would have to agree with the model established by Me to We: Compassion, action, responsibility and equality. To be a caring and compassionate person means you have the desire to be a good person. You do not volunteer to gain volunteer hours or create an image for yourself. You volunteer because you truly believe in helping others. To care about the feelings of others, for yourself, and for the world around you is a fundamental step in becoming a global leader.

Action is also a crucial step. To become a global citizen you must not only have good thoughts, but also act upon them. Personally, I find this to be one of the most difficult steps. Our lives are busy, filled with school, extracurriculars, and a social schedule. However, if everyone made time to volunteer or search for the nearest recycling bin, I believe the world would be a much better place.

To be responsible is to be a person who may be seen as a leader. To be responsible means to be a person who is reliable and honest. These characteristics are key to becoming a global citizen. In order to gain the respect and have a positive impact on the people around you it is important to be true to what you stand for, or in other words, ‘walk the walk’.

I ranked equality last, although this does not mean it is any less important. To have equality in society is to appreciate others differences. We are all people of different race, gender, and economic background. If we were to treat people with the respect they deserve, conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli conflict would be resolved and tension and hard feelings between groups of people would be relieved. In order to be a global citizen you must go into any situation with an open mind. I believe equality is encompassed with the qualities listen above, most specifically compassion.