Citizens vs. Subjects

We are citizens of the United States (as well as citizens of our individual states or commonwealths).

What does that mean?

I checked out some of the current definitions, and they are mixed.

Surprisingly, the first definition that pops up in Bing is below:

I'd actually never heard a citizen described as a 'subject' before. The distinction between them had been a feature of my high school Civics class.

Even more surprising to me was the Cambridge dictionary entry, that was closer to what my understanding had been - but also identified British subjects as citizens.

Mr. Miller has the classic definition on his site.

"The difference is immense. Subject is derived from the Latin words, sub and jacio, and means one who is under the power of another; but a citizen is an unit of a mass of free people, who, collectively, possess sovereignty.

Subjects look up to a master, but citizens are so far equal, that none have hereditary rights superior to others. Each citizen of a free state contains, within himself, by nature and the constitution, as much of the common sovereignty as another. In the eye of reason and philosophy, the political condition of citizens is more exalted than that of noblemen. Dukes and earls are the creatures of kings, and may be made by them at pleasure: but citizens possess in their own right original sovereignty.”

This expresses the thought of many:

Americans traditionally DONT ask permission. We run our OWN lives as WE see fit.

Naturally, that infuriates those that believe THEY have the right to tell the rest of us how to live, because - well, BECAUSE!

Right now, there are many people who see themselves as the natural rulers of the majority of the United States. They've been indoctrinated to think of themselves as superior, because of their education (not WHAT they learned, but WHERE they learned it), their appreciation of the 'finer' things in life (hey, EVERYONE they know agrees with them, so it must be true), and their connections (or, rather, their parents' connections), political and economic.

Wanna see an Entitled Person turn purple? Tell him/her/xir "You're not the Boss of me".

The reaction will be similar to this:

It's LONG past time to put these would-be 'nobles' and quasi-royals in their place. Don't expect this to be easy. A lot of good people will die, become impoverished, or will be subjected to unspeakable tortures in the process. It's already started.