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An important prerequisite of citizenship is that it gives one an opportunity to decide, freely and without being under any external pressure, about the life he or she's living, about its course and content. Citizenship involves citizens' rights and obligations within a particular community. Thus, citizenship is related to each individual's responsibility for the public space. It's the way a person shows that they’re a full member of a particular community. Citizenship is therefore linked to a person's rights, obligations, responsibility, tolerance and respect, but also to his or her personal development.
When was citizenship important to me in my life? Especially when it came to fighting for the elimination of discrimination and injustice, and also when active in public and political life. As a citizen I am responsible for expressing my opinion on situations involving injustice, and also for working on their rectification. Similarly, if the government or the society takes a political stance threatening the fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups, my duty as a citizen is to speak out.
What manifestations of citizenship can be observed? Participation in elections, donations, involvement in non-profit sector activities (in a way, they represent civil society) and demonstrations (provided that the protests are peaceful).
To me, citizenship is associated with a community of people rather than with a particular State, since it fills citizenship with specific content and gives it a direction. Citizenship as an attitude is independent of the State; however, it's obvious that the State has to perform an important role to allow the citizens to express and experience their citizenship.
How should a person behave to be a good citizen? You must not let anybody deprive you of your responsibilities in the public life, which means that you should adopt a critical attitude toward power and power structures, because those in power see citizenship as something troublesome and undesirable. As a citizen you should do everything you can to improve the social and societal relationships in the environment where you live.
What are my citizen's rights and obligations? In my opinion, the rights include the following activities: active and passive participation in elections; launching of citizens' initiatives or participation in them; participation in public life; organization of coercive actions. The duties include: respect for other people's opinions; tolerance to differences; efforts to make compromises or reach consensus. What I find most important are elections and involvement in civic initiatives.
Personally I feel I am a citizen of Europe, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and eventually also of the world (since the limits of one's responsibility do not coincide with state borders). Consequently, I really try hard to get information about public affairs in these parts of the world and engage in improving them, if need be.
I have Dutch citizenship and if it were legally possible, I would also like to have Czech citizenship. However, since both countries allow dual citizenship only in exceptional cases at present, I won't strive to get Czech citizenship.
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