The Duties of a Citizen

In Barack Obama’s America, there are may folks who live their lives as “victims” who believe that they are entitled to certain recompense from society. Some go through life receiving help from Food Stamps, Head Start, after school programs, school loans, housing assistance, free cell phones, Medicaid, welfare and all other sorts of programs. Not many stop to consider that it is their neighbors and countrymen who are carrying the burden to provide these services. No, to these folks it is the government, the nameless and faceless embodiment of society that is required to provide these services. Indeed, the entire philosophy of the Obama society depends upon the concept of “social justice”, a paradigm in which individuals with less are automatically entitled to more and individuals with lesser talent or drive are to be supported by those with greater talent or a better work ethic. In Barack Obama’s America, we all too often discuss the rights of individual. Many Americans spend

This focus on the rights of the individual is very American, but it is only half of the story. With rights come responsibilities, and all Americans have responsibilities. This is the traditional philosophical construct of a democratic society. Citizens have both rights and responsibilities. Unfortunately, in Obama’s America, this is all too often ignored. Indeed, were the president and his party to publish a manifesto outlining their world view, it is all too clear that responsibilities would be limited to only part of society. The wealthy must pay the taxes to support the state; the poor are to share none of the burden. The ordinary citizen must face the problem of crime, while the criminals are to be cured since their actions are just the result of a tragic upbringing or a mental illness. Defending the country is to be the province of those who do not know any better; the progressives are to shun any obligation for the common defense and leave it to the patriotic yokels. And then there is the biggest item of all: citizens have no responsibility to support themselves. If they fail to do so, the government will step in and provide for them forever.

America was built by folks who struggled to better themselves and to advance their family’s futures. Hard work and long hours went into producing a society and a country that reached a pinnacle new to the human race. Self-reliance was a watchword for America. The poor and less fortunate were not left behind. There were a myriad of social structures that cared for those in need. But the care was limited to those who truly were in need. As a society we did not accept the obligation to help the idle or the lazy people who created their own problems. We accepted that these individuals had an obligation and an opportunity to better themselves and that they had chosen not to do so. In America, anything was possible for anyone, or at least that is how the creed described it. It is true that for some people, prejudice of one sort or another held them back, but even these forces could be overcome by hard work. And in today’s America, the forces of prejudice have long since been vanquished as a controlling influence in society. Anyone can achieve his or her desires with work, perseverance, aptitude and a bit of luck.

So what happened? Truth be told, the progressive ‘social justice” worldview has been the source of enormous rot in the American system. Children are no longer taught to strive for the best or to fight to prevail. Indeed, how many sports leagues are there where the score is no longer kept. It is enough to participate; winning does not matter. But in the real world, winning does matter. The founding fathers are no longer brave men who risked their lives and fortunes to bring freedom to America in the face of great odds. Now, they are slave-owning white merchants or landowners who wanted to secure their own wealth and to cement the system of slavery. Children are also taught that there is no right or wrong. There are only multicultural differences. Is there evil in the world? Not in Obama’s America. Is there conduct that is inappropriate? Only in rare instances say the progressives. When Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were killed in 1968, liberals did not say that evil was afoot; no, America was “a sick society”. Even these assassins were not held responsible for the heinous acts. When Representative Giffords was shot in Arizona last winter, few liberals bothered to look at the reasons why the assailant acted. He was, it turned out, a believer in the progressive movement who was also mentally ill, but to liberals and the media, he became the avatar of the conservatives who oppose their world view. So, not only was the shooter not personally responsible for his actions, he was not even responsible for his actual beliefs.

In Obama’s America, citizens are also no longer asked to care for themselves. Those who might have the initiative to start a business in order to support themselves are vilified and obstructed. The folks who have previously open a small business are now the “millionaires and billionaires” against whom Obama constantly rails. Forget for the moment that these folks may make as little as $200,000 which due to the tax code is actually the profit of their businesses, these entrepreneurs are castigated as uncaring and selfish. They are unwilling to give up more of their livelihoods to support those who do not bother to care for themselves. Of course, this country was built on one startup company after another that made good. Just think of Apple and Microsoft. Both were started by young people with an idea. Both now employ hundreds of thousands of folks. The same is true of Google, Facebook and a host of other companies. Going back in time, you can think of Ford Motor Company or Xerox. How about an almost 200 year old firm like DuPont that began as a mill in Delaware? Essentially the entire American economy began this way. (As an aside, now think of all of the great names in American enterprise that began with government help, whether to create green jobs, electric cars or something else. There are none.)

If America is ever to recover from its current malaise, there will need to be a reassertion and acceptance of the responsibilities of each American citizen. Each of us is responsible for the country and for our own success in it. Here is list of just some of the most important responsibilities that we each must shoulder.
1) Each of us is responsible to support him or herself. There is no right to support from the government or society. We must each do the best we can to take care of ourselves. Let me quickly add that I am not advocating the end of welfare or unemployment insurance or FEMA or the like. We can choose as a society to help those who have hit misfortune. We ought not, however, translate that into a right for the indigent or a long term plan for assistance. For most folks, help should be temporary. Let me repeat that: for most folks help should be TEMPORARY!
2) We should teach our children that they must fend for themselves. Those who accomplish this should be held up as examples of what is good and right in our society. Do not misunderstand. I do not suggest that wealthy businessmen should replace sports figures as the heroes of youth. I just suggest that the stories of people who created their own success should be used to explain to our youth what they should strive for. The concept of shame should be revived. It ought to be shameful to be on welfare endlessly. Idleness and laziness should be shunned. This may sound revolutionary, but it is necessary if we are to endure as a nation.
3) Each American should carry part of the burden of the society. Service in the armed forces and the payment of taxes should be looked at as requirements to be part of this society. Certainly, the wealthy can and should pay more taxes than the less fortunate, but the days of no tax and, even worse, tax credits must end. We are all Americans. We all must pay, in part, for this society. We must be supporters of America, not drains from the treasury. Similarly, service to America should be viewed as a high honor. And those who served must be treated with respect and thanks. When John Kerry told a campaign audience that those who fail in life end up in the military, he revealed the true belief of the Progressives. It is a view that must be eradicated.
4) Each of us must take part in our society and its governance. Over the last fifty years, America’s government has moved away from the core beliefs of the American people because too many folks were asleep. Every American has to pay attention to what is happening in Washington. You cannot assume that all is well. Frequently, it is not.
5) We need to help others. This is a different aspect of point 3 above. There is no need for the government with all of its waste and inefficiencies to handle aid to those in need. There are charities that can and do help mush more effectively than the government ever could. They deserve our support.
6) We must accept the fact that there is evil in the world. All is not relative. Those who fly planes into buildings are not misunderstood people with grievances. The psychiatrist who shoots and kills thirteen of his fellow soldiers is not acting sue to some slight that took place during his childhood. These folks are evil. Evil just like the dictator in Syria who kills 2500 of his countrymen who dare to protest against his rule. Evil just like the criminals who rob and murder and rape every day in this country. Evil must be punished; there is no need to explain it.
7) Finally, we must accept the fact that government cannot provide the answer to most of society’s problems. Social engineering and nation building do not work any better in the USA than they do in Iraq or Afghanistan. A strong free society must control itself though its citizens and not relieve them of their responsibilities through a supposed government control. Government almost always gets things wrong, and that means death to the society that relies for the most part on government action.