All citizens have rights and responsibilities. We have been covering them in the last few blog posts. Today, we are looking at several responsibilities of good citizens. We are taught that a good citizen respects the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others. How well are we all doing that on social media? When was the last time you were called an idiot or called someone else a moron? Is it okay that someone else has different ideas, beliefs, and opinions than you? A term that I was taught for this is civility. Webster defines civility as: " polite, reasonable, and respectful behavior" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civility
The Institute for Civility in Government has some guidelines that we should note: "Civility is about more than just politeness, although politeness is a necessary first step. It is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one’s preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same. Civility is the hard work of staying present even with those with whom we have deep-rooted and fierce disagreements. It is political in the sense that it is a necessary prerequisite for civic action. But it is political, too, in the sense that it is about negotiating interpersonal power such that everyone’s voice is heard, and nobody’s is ignored. And civility begins with us." http://www.instituteforcivility.org/who-we-are/what-is-civility/
Before he reached the age of 16, our first president, George Washington, transcribed some rules to guide civility. You can read them here: http://www.history.org/almanack/life/manners/rules2.cfm
It is a sad commentary on social media that we have strayed so far from common rules of decent behavior. I hope this inspires the reader to think twice before you type another insult to someone who disagrees with you.
We are also called as good citizens to participate in our local communities, pay taxes, serve on a jury and defend our country if needed. There are endless opportunities to participate locally. When a person is engaged in serving others in their community, voting is becomes another way to contribute to the general good. Please be sure you are registered so you can vote in November and in every election.
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