Rick Ramirez: The Ideal Citizen

Rick Ramirez is a sketch of what I view an ideal citizen to be: he loves his country, he values his individualism, and he is tolerant of the beliefs of others. It is my belief that one can only truly appreciate something if one is in the absence of it. In a sense, immigrants, those who have been in the absence of the freedoms and luxuries found in this country, are sometimes better able to appreciate their citizenship than those born with it. Rick is an immigrant whose family moved from Mexico to escape poverty when he was young. Because Hispanics make up a great deal of immigrants in today’s society, I thought it would be appropriate to give Rick and Hispanic background. For Rick, appreciation of his country goes beyond simple words and is manifested in his interest to serve his community through volunteer organizations and being a member of the Red Cross.

Although Rick appreciates his country, he also questions it as well. The ideal citizen should be well-informed and value their individualism. Rick’s political view is “whatever makes sense” because he embodies this principle of individualism. Although some government textbooks label non-politically aligned people as individuals who are either politically apathetic or are simply uninformed, this is not the case for Rick. In fact, Rick enjoys watching the news, reading the newspaper, and is interests include politics and the economy. One of his favorite movies is the John Adams miniseries, which explores some of the important principles of the current republic form government. Despite not being politically affiliated, Rick is an informed citizen and he decides on how he exercises his right to vote not on what a particular party believes to be right, but what he believes to be right. Like the wild horses in his profile picture, his beliefs are not restrained by the saddle of partisanship.

Openness is another aspect that an ideal citizen should have. Living in America, one deals with people of different backgrounds quite often. Rick is an agnostic, who by definition is one who neither believes nor discredits the existence of God. In other words, Rick is able to walk the line between all religions because he has no stake in a particular one. At the same time, he does not condemn atheism like some religions because he is open to the possibility. His openness and tolerance of other backgrounds is perhaps illustrated further in his choice of music, which includes Bob Marley and Wyclef Jean. Both musicians were known for their positive music, which promoted peace, tolerance, and good will. Rick’s principles are also reflected in his choice of books: The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. Both of which describe the lives of two important activists who fought for social equality.