Three Pillars of Citizenship
About Philia > Reclaiming Citizenship > Three Pillars of Citizenship
Citizenship is a way of meeting one of our deepest needs, the need to belong; it gives voice and structure to the yearning to be part of something larger than ourselves. "Citizenship is, in short, one of the profound categories that make us who we are, one of the crucial ways humans go about creating a life for themselves. Without it we are cut adrift from each other - and from ourselves."
- Mark Kingwell
Most of us are accustomed to thinking of citizenship in terms of the twin pillars of rights and responsibilities.
All Canadians enjoy certain rights which are outlined in our Human Rights Codes and in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These include equality rights, democratic rights, legal rights, mobility rights and language rights, as well as the fundamental freedoms of religion, thought, expression, peaceful assembly, and association. To these, we would add the rights of belonging, of recognition, and of approval of our uniqueness both as individuals and as groups.
At the same time, we all share common responsibilities. These include understanding and obeying the laws, participating in our political system, voting, allowing others to enjoy their rights and freedoms, and contributing to the betterment of our communities and our country.
Our definition of citizenship includes a third pillar: the pillar of access. That is, access to the forums, institutions, associations and public spaces where citizens meet, discuss, share, work, contribute, play and socialize - as well as the even more fundamental access to human relationship. Access is a critical component of citizenship, for without it no one can fully exercise their rights or discharge their obligations. As human rights activist Catherine Frazee puts it: "Access is about making our way into human community."
This deeper level of access invites us into and engages us within a dynamic of access to respect, access to a sense of oneself as a whole person, access to identity as a valued contributor, a bearer of rights, knowledge and power. Seen through the lens of disability, social inclusion is therefore about access to human relationship.
- Catherine Frazee
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