Little Red Blog

In this week’s Homespun Symposium, CJ presents the question:

What, in your opinion, are the moral responsibilities of the individual citizen in the United States (or your own country) today and how do you believe people should act upon (or react to) those perceived responsibilities?

An excellent question, and a question that will no doubt find as many differences among the responses, as it will similarities. How many among us will attest to the existence of absolute truths, moral certainties, or even unalienable rights?

Many times before, and certainly more to come, this space has been held by my preoccupation with the moral certainties of our nations founding – “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These simple words, strung together for the first time some 228 years ago, recognize the most basic of truths, and whether we are men of faith, men of reason, or men of reasoned faith, we are not likely to supplant them.

Without the aforementioned standards, we fall prey to the snake oil salesmen of our age offering human rights, civil liberties, compensation without merit, and an assortment of miracle cures, elixirs and programs for ailments that spring not from the frailty of our bodies but from the frailty of our character. And here we are.

The answer, in as much as I’m capable of providing one, is as follows:

We must educate ourselves, as well as our progeny and all those we come into contact with, on both the premise and the promise of our nation. This is particularly challenging given the state of our education system, higher ed in particular, and the substantive attachment our businesses, society and often personal lives place on acquiring what is now more often than not merely a bus ticket to join the rat race.

We must engage our fellow citizens who, out of kindness or mal-intent, advocate the government as the primary resolution to societal woe, inequality of result, or personal misfortune. Again challenging, as we have 60 plus years of ever increasing involvement from the government, and far too few advocates, even among those who are like minded, to state the case. Is it morally acceptable to ignore the immorality of forced taxation, even if the result of the tax is to aid the less fortunate? No, the moral option is to seek to aid the needy through efforts voluntarily contributed to, and to remove the barriers to greater prosperity for those who might contribute freely.

And lastly, whether from a zero defect mentality, an all or nothing view, a single-issue stance, or other causes, including standing on principle, we must end our unwillingness to chose the best among less than perfect options. Far too often we’ve stood on principle and been defeated, rather than moving toward a more principled and just solution through compromise. Think baby steps.

There are many areas that are well worth discussing under the label of our moral responsibilities to our nation, none more important than the defense of the nation when threatened, or the willingness to challenge it when it errs. But without agreement on the basis for our nations existence, its role in our lives, and our responsibilities to it and each other, we are limited in our ability to discuss or amend our path. The great, and clearly flawed, men who founded this nation, framed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights, not as a moral or just system for individuals to abide by or a guide for our lives, but rather as a moral and just system by which we could self-govern and limit the tyranny of man over man. It was clear to them that the individual citizen would be required to accept responsibility for his own life, moral or otherwise, in order for this system to work. And for the most part, it has. That being said, no more for now.

Other responses to this weeks question:

Mad Poets Anonymous
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Being Thomas Luongo
The Unmentionables
Ogre's Politics and Views
The Redhunter
Major Dad 1984
Three Men and a Blog
Dagney's Rant
Ruah
The Commons at Paulie World