The Bill of Responsibilities
by Anthony Stahelski
Americans continue to be confronted with the realization that the rest of the world will not go away. As current events demonstrate, we will not be allowed to pursue the American Dream unless we help fixthe desperate problems of the developing world. It is likely that the 21st Century will demand even more of American resources and wealth than the 20th Century did. Are we culturally prepared for this renewedcall to duty?
In spite of the temporary increase in patriotism caused by the 9/11 attacks, Americans seem less prepared for collective sacrifices than ever before. We have become an Individualistic, “it’s all about me” culture, where each individual’s needs, desires, values and goals have precedence over collective obligations. Independence autonomy, freedom, competition, and individual rights are valued. By contrast, in Collectivist cultures groups such as families, neighborhoods or countries are more important than the individual. Conformity, obedience, duty, loyalty, obligation, and cooperation are valued, and interdependence is acknowledged as the fundamental
glue of society. Cultural observers on both the left and right believe thatAmerican society is endangered because we have become too individualistic.
As a counterbalance to increased individualism, I propose a radical idea: an amendment to the Constitution called the Bill of Responsibilities. The purpose of this Bill is to reintroduce Collectivist elements into American society, by obligating Americans to regain consciousness of community interdependencies. If the Constitution explicitly identifies individual rights, as it does in the Bill of Rights, certain responsibilities should be similarly identified. What citizen collective obligations would be important enough to put in the Constitution?
Mandatory Voting. Voting is the basic democratic citizen act. Americans have a terrible voting record compared to other democratic citizens. Mandatory voting (enforced by very minor sanctions) has not harmed the democratic process in other democracies, and it typically results in very high voter turnout. All citizens should share in the basic act of maintaining democracy, and mandatory voting is a means of assuring this maintenance.
Mandatory Participation in a Neighborhood Association. Most Americans live in neighborhoods. Since neighbors surround us, presumably Americans socialize regularly with their neighbors. In the past this may have occurred, but it does not occur on a regular basis now. Neighborhood isolation has negative effects. Antisocial behavior thrives when neighbors treat each other like strangers. Many neighborhoods have recognized associations, but most Americans do not participate in these associations. Mandatory participation, which should not require any sizable time or energy commitment, would have neighbors relating as something other than strangers. Your neighbors may not become your best friends, but at least everyone would be on a greeting basis. Children would grow up in a stronger web of community.
Universal Youth Draft. Sometime between the ages of 16 and 30, everyone, with no exceptions, would serve their society in some way. One could choose from a variety of options: The military, Peace Corps,Americorp, the Red Cross, or hospitals, schools, clinics, prisons, social service agencies, charitable organizations. Young people would be provided room and board and paid minimally during their service. The purpose of this proposal is to create a renewed sense of social commitment and connection, by instilling the recognition that we allhave a debt to the society that nurtures us.
Mandatory Community Service. All citizens, unless too ill or impaired,would at least minimally participate in some form of community serviceon a regular basis. The purpose of this proposal is similar to the one above. As we Americans pursue our individual lives we forget howdependent our personal outcomes are on the collective context.Although most of us pay taxes that provide for collective goods and services, this does not create a personal connection between taxpayers and the surrounding community. The many Americans that already volunteer for community service could serve as role models if such a program was initiated for all.
Critics point out that mandatory obligations reduce the very freedoms that we have worked so hard to expand. They say that some of the proposals violate the freedom of assembly portion of the 1st Amendment. The obligations do restrict social freedoms (though not economic or political freedom) somewhat, forcing us to recognize thatwe are part of larger community. However, if we do not reestablish the cultural habits of collective responsibility and sacrifices intoAmerican society, we will continue to be surprised when the worldintrudes into our existence, and even worse, our democracy willcontinue to be threatened by an overdose of Individualism.
In the past, previous generations of Americans have risen to face the challenges and crises of their times. If the changes proposed above were actually implemented, and eventually wholeheartedly accepted by most Americans, I would be more confident that the present generations of younger Americans would rise to meet the crises of the first several decades of the 21st Century.
Anthony Stahelski, is a a professor of psychology at Central Washington University in Ellensburg Washington.
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