The Bill of Responsibilities

Those of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time know that I take a dim view of those who loudly and irresponsibly trumpet about their rights, but shy away from any discussion of their responsibilities. This is particularly true of those who prioritize the Second Amendment over the lives of children, and the Fifth Amendment above law and civic responsibility.

I am on the waiting list at my local library for a new book by veteran diplomat and policy-maker Richard Haass titled The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, which appears to say the same thing I've been saying for many years. The book won't be published until later in January, so I don't know yet what his suggested "ten habits" are, but I thought I might dedicate this penultimate post of 2022 to the responsibilities of American citizenship that I think are important, especially at this moment in our history:

1. Recognize that you are part of a larger community, and that other people have rights, too. We Americans have a history of prioritizing the rights of the individual over those of the larger community. Insistence on unrestricted personal rights at the expense of the rights and safety of the community can lead to ... well ... what we see every time there's a mass murder by gunfire or some despicable hate crime.

2. Accept that "freedom" does not mean the ability to do whatever you want, whenever you want, without consequences. I wrote about this back in October in my post titled "The Cognitive Dissonance of Freedom." When you believe that your perceived "freedom" grants you the "license" to break the law or deny freedoms to others, you are a real problem that you're inflicting on the rest of us.

3. Understand that not everyone shares your political opinions. Politics at its best is supposed to be the art of debate and compromise for the common good. It's hard to compromise between people who believe their political opponents are the second coming of Adolf Hitler and those who believe their opponents are whiny, baby-eating libtards. There's a rational political middle out there somewhere that people of good need to rediscover.

4. Understand that belonging to a particular political party does not make you automatically a good or a bad person, but that how you exercise and apply your political beliefs does. Not every Republican is a mindless proto-fascist and not every Democrat is a wild-eyed tax-and-spend liberal. Those that are ... and those who ignore or enable them ... make things a lot harder for those trying to be reasonable and rational within their respective political belief systems. 

5. Accept that there are religious beliefs other than your own, and that their practitioners hold them as deeply as you profess to hold yours. Contrary to what many on the religious right seem to think, the Founders did not intend their new nation to be a theocracy ruled by rigidly intolerant Christians. The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" ... it does not say that the United States is an exclusively Christian nation, or that you are free to impose your beliefs - whatever they are - on others. When your religion tells you to do one thing or act in a particular way, and your neighbor's tells him the opposite, who is right? Who decides? And whose rights are violated if one is prioritized over the other?

6. Recognize also that there are people who have no religious beliefs, and yet manage to be decent people and responsible citizens. Although I was raised in a traditionally religious home, it's been a long time since I've felt any attraction to any organized, ritualized religion ... and yet I try to be a good and caring human, and think those who know me well would probably consider me such ... most of the time, anyhow. 

7. Vote, and accept the outcome even when your preferred candidate loses. The whole ridiculous and dangerous idea that an election you lose is by definition corrupt or stolen undermines the very foundations of representative democracy. If you lose, blame your ideas for being less attractive than those of the other candidate and figure out what you need to adjust in your platform ... don't blame the other side for cheating. It just makes you look like a whiny, spoiled child.

8. Accept that the law applies equally to everyone, rich and poor. This is the American ideal, expressed in the majestic words "Equal Justice Under Law" chiseled over the entrance to the Supreme Court. Of course, as with so many other things in our country, the reality is quite different. If you're rich and can afford world-class lawyers and accountants (and, when needed, raw muscle) to get you off the hook, or buy off elected officials to craft laws in your favor, you come to believe that laws apply to little people, not to you. Just ask Der Furor.

So ...

Mr Haass has ten obligations of good citizenship. I have eight thoughts on the differences between rights and responsibilities. I think we'd be better off as a nation if the Founders had discussed the responsibilities of citizens and not just their rights, but here we are. We need to decide what it means to be a good citizen and what responsibilities come with the rights we enjoy.

Good luck with that.

Have a good day, and be sure to come back on Friday, when we present the final Ass Clown award for the year - the On-Crack Ass Clown for December. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

P.S.  For those of you keeping track, the Ass Clown of the Year standings show the top three vote-getters going into the home stretch as:

Greg Abbott in first place with 1000 votes;

Elon Musk in second place with 531 votes; and,

Kevin McCarthy in third place with 425 votes.

Others with votes piling up, but not yet in the top three, include Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Donald Trump, Jr., and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Newly-elected New York GOP Representative George "Everybody Embellishes Their Resume" Santos entered the contest yesterday, netting a meager ten votes.

Don't forget to cast your votes before 11:59 PM on Saturday. Rules and a list of the awardees so far can be found here. Let your voice be heard - vote now! And again later. 

B.