A Citizen, what is that exactly? The 14th amendment of the constitution defines citizens as:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
So this tells us that we are citizens of a state and of a country. By extension we are citizens of a county and a town or city. Each of these entities have their own autonomy up to a certain point. As we know from taxes and laws, each of these entities of which each of us is a part, have their own vision as to how their citizens are supposed to support and participate in the community.
Even if you do not live in a town or city, all of us live in a county. That is our most basic citizenship. That county is a part, a building block of a state and that state is a part of a country. As a country we are collectively part of a global society.
As citizens we have rights, privileges, protections and responsibilities at every level from local to global. Our American citizenship is the great equalizer. We may be extremely diverse as a people, a microcosm of the whole world with a multitude of cultures, races, beliefs, traditions, orientations and affiliations but the one thing we all share in common, that holds us together as a People, is our citizenship, our identity as citizens of the United States of America. The operative word is united.