Former American president Theodore Roosevelt once said: “The first requisite of a good citizen is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight.”.
A good citizen is one who accepts responsibility towards his or her country. Should a person care to be a good citizen? Or pass through life simply expecting everything to fall into place? During his inaugural speech in 1961 John Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” with this he addressed Americans of all ages challenging them to contribute to their country in one way or the other. This statement was one that inspired generations to stop waiting around for the world to change and encouraged them to change it for themselves. “I could go to graduate school, I could go to law school,” says Shalala who was a nineteen-year-old freshman at the time “Before I heard the speech I was thinking of being a journalist, a war correspondent as a matter of fact.” but that changed after hearing Kennedy’s words. Shalala took his words to heart and went on to join the then newly-formed Peace Corps, an organization she called, “the embodiment of President Kennedy’s call to our generation for service.”
