Today we’ll be discussing the first of the responsibilities of a citizen of the United States - Obeying the laws. This sounds so simple and straightforward doesn’t it? We learned as children that there were rules we had to abide by or our lives got very unfun very quickly. However, somewhere along the way many seem to loose connection with that simple responsibility. As a citizen, since we enjoy the rights of citizenship and the protections thereof, for those rights, we owe the state (United States) our compliance with the laws.
It would be difficult to find the American citizen who agrees with every law in the country, if one could be found at all. Whether we believe the law is just or not does not mean we need not adhere to them.
If you go to court expecting to get let off because you were unaware that the law existed, well, you’ll be very disappointed! Ignorance of the law is not a defense here in this country. Why? that’s part of the duty of the citizen – to know the laws well enough to not break them.
Today that ethic is difficult to find. When new regulatory laws are passed on an industry that industry tends to hire lawyers, lobbyists, publicists and more to put the industry’s take/spin on the situation. The lawyers file motions in courts challenging the law. Lobbyists visit members of Congress promoting their industry’s viewpoint. Publicists create advertising campaigns to get the American public on their side. Courts rule, lawyers file appeals, and the issue finds itself before the Supreme Court of the United States.
There seems to be a more overt shift in the American public psyche. When our founding fathers formed this nation and broke for English rule, rebellion ran wild and rampant. A war ensued because as a people, on the whole, those living in the Americas believed that they were entitled to equal representation under the law if the British crown received their taxes.
Once the mutual enemy was beaten, the real work of forging a nation began. Our forefathers faced the challenge of taking a people who had been mentally feasting at the banquet of freedom and independence – many for the first time in their lives. It was a heady time because no where else in the world at that time was there a country such as the United States where the freedom and independence of the individual was so important and essential to the country and what it stood for.
Maybe it is the veteran in me. I joined the service because I believed in “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet” and wanted to contribute – at a time when being in the service wasn’t exactly popular. Maybe it was going to grade school in upstate New Hampshire where revolutionary era war was a tangible thing through field trips and museums.
Yet, throughout history, whenever regimes became too oppressive, when a group of citizens reach the thinking of “When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty,” that has heralded great change. The quote has been attributed to a variety of sources, ranging from David Koresh to Benjamin Franklin; Thomas Jefferson, and others have been recognized for the phrase.
It is difficult to remember in our 2011 world that when our forefathers constructed the Constitution to govern by that they believed in the goodness of their fellow man to do the right thing. They knew the cost of rebellion – up close and personal. I wonder if any of our forefathers would recognize the country they founded.
It really isn’t difficult. Show your citizenship – obey the laws – from traffic laws to zoning rules. They are there for a reason. Our forefathers did not rebel lightly. They knew what war meant, they knew people would die, wives would send husbands to war to never return, sons would die. Many other noncombatants as well. Rebellion is not only risky business, it’s bloody. Having been through the birth pains of the revolution the citizens of the new nation were proud to abide by the laws created during the process. Making the conscious choice to obey the law was a duty citizens exercised with pride and honor.
If you want your country to be there for you, you need to be there for your country. Remember, we are at war – whether you agree with the war or not is not the point here – the fact is soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are dying on battlefields half a world away. They understand sacrifice, duty, and honor. With their example, how can we as citizens do anything less than everything we can to make our country strong.
President Kennedy said it best: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” I am sure something of that nature was espoused during the tense and dark days of the American Civil War and especially somewhere on Boston Commons during the days of revolutionary fevor during the birth of our country.
With the politicians running wild and becoming rich upon their service to the country is it really their fault, or are they just a glaring example of how much we, the people, have to teach them about duty as a citizen. Until we clean up our house as citizens, we’ll never be able to clean up the political system!
It is true both for the individual and for the country – positive change comes from within. A true belief that we are a part of something much bigger than the individual and that very something is worth sacrificing for is something each citizen should have. We are fortunate to live in a very wonderful country – even with her ills.
Honor the sacrifice of the military by making sure that you are a good citizen. Your citizenship and what it means really is part of what they serve to protect.
