Being a citizen

By Marilú Acosta

A citizen is a person who is an active member of a state, who has political rights and is subject to the laws of that state. There is a birthright citizenship and an acquired citizenship. For both, the rights enjoyed by citizenship govern society at the macro level, they are a mixture of tasks and responsibilities that citizens have to each other in addition to those they have to the government, for the purpose of a common good. Government also has a responsibility to fulfill rights and privileges.

Privilege is a word that comes from the Latin, privilegium, composed of privus from the verb privare, which means oneself, legalis which is relative to the law and the suffix ium, which indicates relationship. Legally, privileium is a law made for a particular individual, group or sector. We are accustomed to use the word privilege as something unfair and abusive on the part of those who benefit. However, there are situations that require a privilege that can be considered neither unfair nor abusive; for example, granting permission to perform surgery as surgeons in charge, only to general practitioners (6 years of study) who have completed the specialty in surgery (4 years). The privilege to operate as lead surgeon is only for professionals with 10 years of career.