Civic "Duty"

Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 9:04 PM
I want to just say a few words on civic duty tonight. Let's break the phrase down to its two components: civic....duty. Civic: of or relating to the town or city one lives in. Duty: a moral or legal obligation; a responsibility. Most people generally interpret the phrase civic duty as a responsibility towards your fellow citizens to be active in politics. Voting is something that everyone is supposed to do. If you think about it from a social contract perspective, it's a reasonable interpretation. We are all bound by the social contract of citizenship. Everyone participates in government, and everyone works together for mutually benefit.

The way civic duty is interpreted above is very laudable. However, I wanted to touch on a different interpretation of civic duty, which is a responsibility to the self.

When I think of civic duty, I think of taking responsibility for my life and environment. Instead of being content to let others dictate the direction of my world, I want to have an impact. It's not that I even expect to change government decisions and policies that I disagree with. Bureaucracy is a messy machine. I couldn't do anything to prevent the Iraq War, even though I opposed it the day the news broke. That's reality though. What's unforgivable from me is lacking awareness, and having apathy for what's happening here. I must be mature enough to have an understanding of why the world is as is.

Responsibility for self. That, is precisely what civic duty means to me.

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