The Ways to Become a Global Citizen - Essay Example

A global citizen considers one's local actions as having global consequences and one who accepts that one has the responsibility to work to better the condition of the world and its people. Admittedly, there are a large number of features that are found in a global citizen.
First of all, one can say that a global citizen will be able to think globally while acting locally. In other words, such a person will be able to understand, or, think about the global repercussions of various activities. For example, such a person is likely to understand the global consequences of any environmentally hazardous steps taken by a nation.
Secondly, a global citizen may be aware of the issue of inequality in the world. As a result, the person will be able to feel the importance of ensuring equality among all people, religions, cultures, and races. Thus, the best way to describe a global man is that a global citizen will look for ways to ensure peace in the whole world. In addition, such persons will feel responsible for their actions and hence will be careful to see that their actions do not cause issues for others.

Admittedly, there are many ways to develop a global citizen. The very first way is to provide education. Education is the most effective way to remove prejudices and biases. A person who knows the real factors behind environmental issues and cultural conflicts is highly unlikely to act in contrast to what he or she has learned.
The second important point in making someone a global citizen is to impart knowledge about values, traditions, and cultures. When someone achieves proper knowledge about cultures and traditions, one will give up one's prejudices against those people. Also, the person will become more open-minded.
In addition, it is necessary to ensure continuing education to sustain this feeling of global citizenship. This continuing education must include awareness about all the current issues from around the world. Moreover, a global citizen is supposed to continue learning about other cultures and people.
The two institutions which are selected for the essay are the Parliament building and R-BC Museum in Victoria BC. These two institutions help a lot in one's effort to become a global citizen. As one enters the BC Parliament building, the first thing that attracts one's attention is the British Columbia Coat of Arms. The Coat of Arms is a rich creation, which exhibits the elements of natural splendor and the colonial past of BC.

The story of colonization comes to one's mind when one looks at the crowned lion on the crown. This lion represents Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s, Royal Crest. Seeing this, my mind went back to the mid-18th century when Europeans started coming to British Columbia. In addition, I understood the significance of the names like British Columbia and Victoria. Secondly, there was a lot of information about the geographical and environmental splendor. For example, the blue stripes on the crown represent the Pacific Ocean and the white stripes indicate the Rocky Mountains. Another surprising fact I noticed is that even the location of BC is indicated through the setting sun. It is used to show that BC is the westernmost province of Canada. Finally, even the motto ‘splendor sine occasion means ‘beauty without diminishment’; thus, the Coat of Arms is a symbolic representation of every important feature of BC (The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, n.d).
When I compared this with the coat of arms of the United States, I found that a nation reveals a lot about its nature through its symbols. For example, the United States coat of arms contains a shield with thirteen stars in it, which represent the thirteen original states. The shield is supported by an eagle which holds 13 arrows in its left talon and an olive branch in the right talon. This indicates the nation loves peace but is ready to fight. Thus, I gained the insight that a nation’s symbols are indicative of the nation’s main features and characteristics.
Another important point I observed in BC Parliament is the symbolic representation of democracy in the legislative chamber. The chamber has several plaster faces above each column and faces look down from above on the MLAs. These faces symbolize the role of the general public. In other words, the faces remind the representatives that the general public has authority over them.
Thus, the ‘Kwakwaka’wakw’ ceremonial masks which I saw in the First Peoples Gallery in the R-BC Museum made me aware of the powerful cultures and arts of the Aboriginal cultures (Royal BC Museum, n.d).
Thus, in total, the field trip was helpful in my growth as a global citizen. Read More