Even after more than a dozen sources, there are still a few duties I would add that I didn’t find on any list. There are even more items that were on one or more lists that I personally would not include in my final list. In addition, there are a number of items that I would adjust slightly. Here are my additions, subtractions and changes.
Duties I believe should be added
Run for political office: Some of the other items say things like work in or participate in politics but don’t say specifically to run for office. This may be a duty! You may not have to run for Mayor or Governor or Senator. It could be the school board, city council or even dog catcher. But a larger choice of quality candidates is rarely a bad thing. At this point, I wont’s say it’s absolutely a duty of a citizen. I will say it’s a good thing to do, and I can easily be convinced it’s something citizens should do.
Celebrating national holidays: I believe holidays should be celebrated. First, many of the holidays are specifically remembrances of military or government people or events. Others like MLK day, Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples Day exist so that we don’t forget their importance. Still others simply are for spending time together with loved ones. Either way, we should make it a point to avoid working on these days and use them as they were intended – to rest.
Duties I didn’t include
Stand during the Anthem: While I think it’s a respectful thing to do, I don’t think it’s a duty. I believe protesting is a larger duty than standing no matter what. In other words, standing for the anthem is a good and nice thing to do, but not a thing one must do. If you chose to take a knee or stand with your back to the flag during the anthem in protest, I wouldn’t call you a bad citizen. This may be controversial, but that’s my take.
Further, as a person with African blood, when I look at who wrote the anthem and read the full star spangled banner lyrics, including the third verse ..I’m far less enamored with this song than many of my fellow Americans who hail it as the be all and end all of patriotism.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
To be honest, for this reason alone, I find the song repugnant. I do stand and show respect when the song is playing, only to avoid causing an issue over something that’s not at the top of my list of concerns.
To be completely honest though, depending on the circumstances, I have absolutely felt chills and amazing pride at the sound of this song in my past. Listening to Whitney Houston’s rendition at the start of the my first war as an American stirred about as much emotion in me as anything else in my life to this day – maybe with the only exception being 9-11.
Know the Pledge of Allegiance: Can I be a good citizen and not know the pledge? I believe you certainly can, and thus have left this off my list. As a child, when I thought about this, I realized I would much rather be saying that I pledge allegiance to The Constitution or The Nation of the United States of America. Ever since, this is actually what I say, because to me it makes far more sense pledging allegiance to the country itself or its founding documents, than to a flag which is only a symbol.
Be a Good Breeder. Be a father to many healthy children: This is an item that I would not include in my list of duties a citizen should or must do. To be fair, we don’t have an issue with humans or Americans. If we were just coming out of a zombie or atomic apocalypse and had to rebuild the human population, I would say this is top of the list. Today, not so much.
Be a Good Fighter: In an era where maleness is the focal point of citizenship criteria, being a good fighter makes sense. Also, this era was also still marked by physical warfare, before the pulling of a trigger and the pushing of a button was how war was conducted. That era is gone, and thus so is this item from my list.
A good husband: As with the above two items, this is somewhat a duty from a bygone era of the United States. Is it good to be a good husband? Something one should aspire to? Of course. Is it a duty a citizen must fulfill? I don’t believe so.
Display the American Flag: Do I need to display the flag every day, or just on Holidays? During protests you support, do you still have a duty to display? I don’t think this is a duty one must satisfy in order to be considered a good citizen. It doesn’t make the cut for my final list of duties.
Display Patriotism is a category I remove entirely after thinking about it. Why? I don’t have an issue with anyone displaying their own form of patriotism. Whether that’s flying a flag or wearing a flag pin on their lapel. However, it is my opinion that simply doing this doesn’t really tell me about your patriotism. To me, actually performing the necessary duties of a citizen, whatever ‘we’ determine them to be, is what displays your patriotism.
Duties I believe should be Adjusted
Vote: I would add ‘in every eligible election’ to this item. The only thing more disappointing than the fact that only approximately two thirds of eligible Americans vote, is the fact that the number of voters who vote in the midterm elections drops all the way down to 40%. Voting is arguably the most fundamental right and responsibility of a citizen. The fact that so few of us carry out this duty every time is appalling.
Respect the opinions of those who disagree: I respect your right to have an opinion, not necessarily that opinion. Your opinion might suck. Your right to hold it is essential, but the opinion must stand on its own merit. So, I would adjust this one to read, Respect people’s right to have an opinion.
Use less energy: I modify this to ‘Conserve Resources’ and specify the main resources. So I add air, water, soil, minerals, plants and animals.
Respect and tolerance of other people’s opinions: I would change to Try to truly consider and understand the opinions of those you disagree with. Respect cannot be assumed. Most often, disrespect comes from lack of knowledge and understanding and experience with a culture or community. In my experience, eliminating that gap or contact and interaction usually also eliminates disrespect and intolerance. And when it doesn’t, there may be a good reason, such as that opinion coming from a member of a hate group or some other such reason for valid criticism or disagreement.
Be a good father: I alter this to be a good parent – if you have one. First, it shouldn’t be a requirement of a citizen to have children. If you are going to have children though, you must be a good parent. Further, when considering ‘parents’ we need to include step and foster in the same categories as biological parents. They should be just as heralded because they provide a very valuable service to the community.
Must perform duties versus good to do and should do duties of a citizen
I’ve now looked at what everyone else says about the duties of citizenship, and added my own opinions on top. Moreover, I’ve taken a first stab at rearranging the list to show those duties I find to be critical, must perform duties of a citizen at the top of each category and highlighted in bold underline. Those other duties in the list are actions one could and/or should do to further their ‘virtue’ as a citizen.
Here’s the most updated Citizens List of Duties – now at version twelve (v 12).
Image by Lorenzo Cafaro from Pixabay
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