What does it mean to be a good citizen? We all know what our rights are, but what are our obligations to the cause and preservation of democracy? Richard Haass's work The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens attempts to provide some answers, or barring that, guidelines, to what it means to be a good citizen in a modern representative democracy like ours. The work sketches out these obligations in a series of 10 principles or habits, which we think are worth pondering over. Additionally, PBS created a series based on the book called "A Citizen's Guide to Preserving Democracy." We'd like to give you and other members of the community a chance to view view the series, read the book, and discuss your thoughts with your peers.
So What's the Plan?
Leading up to the election, we'd like to bring interested parties together to view the special and discuss a different pair of habits or principles in a series of five weekly meetings. The first hour of each program will be a fresh viewing of "A Citizen's Guide" followed by a discussion. Did we mention snacks? There will be snacks. And voter registration. We've put in a request for ponies. But, don't count on it.
Why participate?
What it means to "live well" and "be a good citizen" is one of the oldest, continuously written about topics since human beings started recording their thoughts on any topic. We live in a topsy turvy world, where we all suffer from information overload, FOLO, FOMO, FUD, and, let's be honest, media and social-media imposed paranoia -- because that's what sells eyeballs and keeps fingers clicking. It's also, as the science clearly shows, the cause of debilitating anxiety and depression in the old and young alike. What better use of your time can you think of than to shove all of that to the side for a moment, an hour of your week, really, and ponder, just ponder, with your neighbors what it means to live well as a person and as a community? Our proposition is as simple as that. Come and discuss what responsibilities we have as citizens acting in good faith in these modern times.