Firing Government

What does it mean to be a citizen? 

Citizenship is membership in a political club, so to speak.
The club I want to distinguish and emphasis, is the sovereignty club, rather than the "subject" club.
 

citizen v. subject
citizen v. government
sovereignty v. government

The government, being an agent, is a subject. The People, being Sovereign, are the principal. As members of the "Principal," individual people are, in a state of nature, free. But we are not all Robinson Crusoe living alone, on a desert island. We live in a society, and so there are limits to our freedom. Mine ends where yours begins.  As co-members of the club, of Sovereign body politic, we need to respect that about each other.
 

The family unit is evidence of government in the state of nature.  The family unit is the basis of society. Parents rule over their children for their own good until they are old enough to rule over themselves. But there is a limit to parental power--when that power becomes abusive, when that power is used to harm, rather than protect. The limit on parental power over a child is distinguished by the best interest of the child. When parental power is not used in the best interest of the child, the power being exercised is criminal.
 

So too with society and its government.
 

In America, civil government is understood to be a public servant, created and granted power to serve and protect the interests of individuals, and to balance that service and protection with the whole of society. If public service becomes destructive to that end, if those entrusted with power abuse that power, and exercise power not given, the government itself becomes the thing it was created to prevent, a criminal trespasser into the arena of sovereignty. When a government trespasses by exercising power beyond the purpose for which it is created -- no different than any agent given a power of attorney to act in my name -- when that agent begins to misrepresent me in the world, when that agent begins to steal from me, and abuse me, I must fire that agent, because if I do not, the agent will assume I am ok with his conduct, that I consent to his criminal activity. 

So too must we fire a criminal government when it ceases to function in the best interest of the people.