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Tatiana Zuniga
Dr. Rios
ENC 3331
16 February 2015
Rhetorical Citizenship: On two Scales
Most people do not realize that the word citizen only pertains to certain
individuals; those who are citizens do not even think about how privileged they actually
are. The non-citizens are constantly reminded of that on a daily basis because of their
limitations, they strive to get the common privileges that citizens take for granted on a
daily basis. In the United States, a citizen is someone born here or who has
documentation, someone that has the right to vote when they are eighteen, and someone
that abides by the laws. In Florida a citizen has the privilege of getting a drivers license
at sixteen and then registering to vote at eighteen, but someone that is not a citizen does
not have that same privilege.
Those who are not citizens of the United States have a hard time speaking up and
getting taken seriously. They try using rhetoric to push for change, but when one is not a
part of the same group of citizens as the rest, it is hard to get respect from some people. A
rhetorical citizen is someone who communicates to get his or her point across, whether it
is reading, writing, singing, or speaking, they must be able to persuade the audience so
that they are heard. The ability to speak and persuade an audience is something that can
be learned very easily. Yes it may be harder for those who are not educated to speak
properly and with authority, but as long as someone can engage in a dialogue is it not
something that cannot be learned. In the article Rhetoric, by Angela Haas and colleagues,

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they write about Aristotle, saying that he defines rhetoric as an ability, in each [particular] case, to see the available means of persuasion (4551). Persuading the audience is
a big part of rhetoric and as long as someone can properly do that while living in this
country and participating in the daily activities they are be categorized as a rhetorical
citizen. A citizen of this country may only be someone who has the proper credentials; a
rhetorical citizen may be anyone who knows how to communicate and persuade their
audience, regardless of their documentation.
Understanding the Other Side
The problem with society is that people are afraid of what they do not know; they
do not care to know the different backgrounds of those here illegally, they just categorize
everyone as illegal. Instead of listening to what they have to say, to the change they
want to make, people would rather shut them down out of fear. Those who are
undocumented have the capability of pushing for change because they have strength in
numbers; there are plenty of people in that situation and with the assistance of rhetoric
they have a voice, but the audience is not always so cooperative.
If someone abides by the laws and has lived in the United States for a long time
without any problems, as a contributing member to society it should not be hard for them
to become citizens. People should be granted citizenship if they live here and do all the
things that citizens do. It does not make sense that Stephanie, the DREAM Act student,
could not go watch a rated R movie when she turned eighteen because she does not have
an identification card proving her age. She knows that she is of age to be allowed entry
into the movie; she is old enough to be in college, yet she is denied enjoying a movie in
theaters. Those born here in a way are geographically lucky; if they were born just one

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continent away then they might not even get citizenship or it would be really tough. It
makes it harder for those who are not citizens to become successful and get an education
because of the rules for citizenship. They are already contributing members of society;
they just do not get to reap the benefits.
Rhetoric in Everyday Life
Rhetoric encompasses the way one gets their point across; having an education is
a big assistance when participating in rhetoric because it gives people more authority. For
example if one were to listen to someone without an education speak at a conference and
someone with an education, the latter would be the one that people pay attention to the
most because they would seem more credible. To be a rhetorical citizen one must be able
to know what is going on in the world around them so they can discuss current events,
participate in discourse, and be active members in society. In Amy Wans article about
citizenship she comments on how teachers assist in the shaping of citizens and how kids
are taught in school that, scholars use citizenship and its rhetorical cachet as a way to
imagine students as agents beyond the institutioneven the kids that are
undocumented act like citizens because they have been exposed to such qualities through
schooling(33).The government can control what it is to be a citizen of the United States,
but the individual can control whether or not they choose to become a rhetorical citizen.
Legally, there is no way of prohibiting someone to voice their opinion, participate in their
community, or make a change for a better cause.
While thinking of my own ethos in terms of identity and citizenship, I realized
that the simple things I take for granted on a daily basis are privileges that some strive to
get; whether it is getting a drivers license or going to college, I never really worried. I am

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a Colombian female, but I never have to worry about lacking any of the privileges
awarded to citizens because of the mere fact that I am a citizen, and unlike other
countries women are somewhat seen as equals to men. In Rhetoric and Civic
Engagement, the authors touch upon how rhetoric changes culture over time; they used
the example of when females were not allowed to vote and how they are allowed now
(20). I will never get to experience the struggle of being so oppressed like that because
rhetoric has changed culture for the better. My own ethos has influenced how I view
myself as a rhetorical citizen; I am a citizen by birth, but I did not become a rhetorical
citizen the same way. Immersing myself into activities with school and being aware of
what is going on in the world and striving to make a change has allowed for me to
become a rhetorical citizen. Someone who is not a legal citizen but has involved him or
herself within the culture is just as much as a rhetorical citizen as I am.
RACOON Recycling
Rhetorical citizenship is seen everywhere and I have been most exposed to it at
the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus because the group Intellectual Decisions
on Environmental Awareness Solutions (IDEAS) practices rhetorical citizenship on a
daily basis. I am very proud to be a part of this organization because we strive to promote
environmental awareness, the committee within the group that I focus most of my efforts
in called, Recycling Access and Collection Organization for Off-campus Neighborhoods
(RACCOON Recycling) works specifically with trying to get off-campus housing to offer
recycling to its residents. The off-campus neighborhoods that do not offer recycling
outweighs the ones that do, we saw this as a problem and felt that something needed to be
done.

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We practice rhetorical citizenship by writing to the complexes that do not recycle
to set up meetings so that we can work closely with them to get recycling in their
neighborhood. We wrote to the person in charge of UCF Recycles on campus to see if we
could use one recycling hauler for all of the communities and are currently waiting for a
confirmation date of our meeting. Most importantly, we set a goal to educate about
environmental awareness and we are doing our best to accomplish that goal and make a
change in society. Most people do not realize how crucial the well being of the planet it
and how easy they can play their part by doing something so simple as recycling. It is not
that hard to separate what is trash and what could be recycled, but the reason why people
do not care is because they are not educated on the subject.
Act Instead of Waiting
Being a rhetorical citizen is the difference between wanting a change and actually
making a change, those who complain and never do anything about their situation are
rarely heard. Taking charge leaves a bigger impact than waiting around, in order to have
something done right one must act. A rhetorical citizen is all about taking charge and
doing instead of expecting others to do for them. The next time someone is not satisfied
with their situation and wants to improve upon it, they must act themselves; change is
possible, but one must be willing to work for it.

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Works Cited
Palczewski, Catherine Helen, Richard Ice, and John Fritch. Rhetoric in Civic Life.
Pennsylvania. Strata Publishing, Inc., 2012. Print.
Powell, Malea, Pigg, Stacey, Leon Kendall, and Haas Angela (2010) Rhetoric,
Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition, 1:1, 45484556.
UndergroundAtBrown. Lost & Found (Story of a DREAM Act Student). Online video
clip. YouTube, May 2007. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.
Wan, Amy J. In the Name of Citizenship: The Writing Classroom and the Promise of
Citizenship 74.1 (2011): 28-49. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.