by Nomad
What is a "civic duty" and why has the idea become so important in recent days?
A Quaint Old Fashioned Phrase
When Professor Christine Ford sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee, she must have anticipated that her motives for reporting her accusations against Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh would be treated with suspicion.
Some on the Republican side were very interested in who might have paid for her travel expenses and polygraph, implying she was being supported by enemies of the administration. Others -perhaps those who have spent decades wallowing in the Washington swamp- were simply unable to imagine anybody without sinister ulterior motives.
In her opening remarks, after giving her account of the incident, Ford also recounted how it had negatively affected her life afterward, and how she attempted to put it behind her. In the past, it would probably have remained.
I, like a lot of people my age, remember it only as a vague concept my parents talked about. A generation younger than my own might not have even heard the phrase before that day.
In the Republican era, the people were adamantly opposed to a monarch or dictator. The founding of the Roman Republic in the 6th century BC was based on the detestation of anti-democratic excesses of kings and tyrants.
(In his participation in the murder of Caesar, Brutus was torn between his conscience and his civic duty of ridding the Republic of a would-be king.)
This hate for kings and dictators stemmed from an assumption of fair representation by senators and consuls and tribunes.
A bit more precisely, it is a civic duty to vote and to serve on a jury. Two acts most Americans openly avoid like giving blood or going to church.
Remarkable, in our politically-fractured day and age.
Whether or not Republican senators actually listened is another story.
We shall know shortly.
Some on the Republican side were very interested in who might have paid for her travel expenses and polygraph, implying she was being supported by enemies of the administration. Others -perhaps those who have spent decades wallowing in the Washington swamp- were simply unable to imagine anybody without sinister ulterior motives.
In her opening remarks, after giving her account of the incident, Ford also recounted how it had negatively affected her life afterward, and how she attempted to put it behind her. In the past, it would probably have remained.
This all changed in early July 2018. I saw press reports stating that Brett Kavanaugh was on the “short list” of potential Supreme Court nominees. I thought it was my civic duty to relay the information I had about Mr. Kavanaugh’s conduct so that those considering his potential nomination would know about the assault.
As I listened to her testimony, the phrase "civic duty" stood out. Such a quaint but old fashioned phrase. Very Norman Rockwell and Frank Capra.
I, like a lot of people my age, remember it only as a vague concept my parents talked about. A generation younger than my own might not have even heard the phrase before that day.
Still, it seemed as though Dr. Ford sincerely believed it was a good enough reason to put herself and her family into the scalding national spotlight. For Dr. Ford, fulfilling her civic duty was a legitimate reason to allow a nation the opportunity to question her judgment, her sanity, and her honesty.
All that got me thinking about what civic duty is and why it should become important at this moment in American history.
Romans: Civic Duties and Stability
The concept of civic duty actually dates back to the Greek and Roman days. In ancient Roma, citizens thought it was their responsibility and civic duty to the Republic and Empire to participate in government affairs. This kind of engagement included attending assembly meetings and voting in elections.
But it went beyond that. All citizens were expected to pay taxes.
The government collected taxes on people, livestock, land, oil, olives, wine, beer, fish, and more. Nearly every business exchange was taxed. The most prominent tax in ancient Rome was the tributum, which was a tax on material wealth. (It is probably where the phrase "to pay tribute" to something originates.)
Citizens were expected to defend the Republic when required. Why? Because the Republic benefited everybody and was, therefore, to be defended by every member or class of society.
(In his participation in the murder of Caesar, Brutus was torn between his conscience and his civic duty of ridding the Republic of a would-be king.)
This hate for kings and dictators stemmed from an assumption of fair representation by senators and consuls and tribunes.
During that time, citizens were expected to participate actively in their government, especially for the old families and the rich. But the most important aspect of civic duty was simply to uphold honesty on a personal level and obey the law.
To be, in other words, a good Roman. Being the best you could be- whether in the arts, or statesmanship or military- was a demonstration of respect to the Roman Republic.
To be, in other words, a good Roman. Being the best you could be- whether in the arts, or statesmanship or military- was a demonstration of respect to the Roman Republic.
When the Republic collapsed with the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC., those virtuous Romans were rewarded with a king in all but name. With that, the ideals of civic duty went into decline- some artifact of a faded glorious age- and so too the pride and stability of the Empire.
Civic Duties in the Age of Trump
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has outlined its guidelines for those considering applying for citizenship. It covers both the benefits as well as the responsibilities.
When it comes to civic duties, there is a strange vagueness.
For example. citizens-in-waiting must take the Oath of Allegiance, swearing to surrender all prior allegiance to any other nation. You must support and defend the Constitution, even the parts you don't necessarily agree with. You must follow the laws and serve the nation as required. You should, if possible, participate in your community. No examples are provided.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is no mention too of the duty to petition one's representative or to take an active part peaceful protests against an injustice.
However, in other countries, having the opportunity to cast a vote is something citizens do with a high degree of patriotic pride. Not in the US and especially not in mid-terms.
Only about half of the voting population turns out for presidential elections That's been true for the last 60 years. However, only about 40 percent of those eligible to vote actually go to the polls in midterm elections. The other 60% are content to let others decide for them and bitch and moan about it over the water cooler.
When it comes to the civic duty of paying taxes, that's something one does under duress. As a candidate, Trump claimed, in his debate with Clinton, that not paying his fair share was a sign he was smart. Later he added, that even if he had paid, the government would have "squandered" it.
And nobody blinked an eye. Because as Reagan used to regularly imply, taxes are unfair to honest hard-working people and government is not the solution, but the problem.
That's a philosophy that conservatives have made their mantra even as they demand immigrants swear to follow the opposite doctrine.
That's a philosophy that conservatives have made their mantra even as they demand immigrants swear to follow the opposite doctrine.
The Duty of Tolerance
In the citizenship guidelines, there's also this juicy tidbit:
Finally, America becomes stronger when all its citizens respect different opinions, cultures, ethnic groups, and religions found in this country. Tolerance for differences is also a responsibility of citizenship.
Remarkable, in our politically-fractured day and age.
For foreigners eager to become US citizens, this guideline provides a list of the things that Citizen Trump openly disregards and ridicules. And while violating these vague rules of citizenship, he claims that immigrants are the enemy and those seeking refuge deserve zero tolerance.
Trump's endorsement of intolerance is more than just a hypocrisy or a political tool. A recent study found a correlation between the intolerance of America's white population and support for authoritarian rule.
And that makes sense. When intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democratic values.
And as the logic of the fascist takes over, out the window goes all talk of tolerance. New forms of civic duty are created, namely, to aggressively protect the ideology from enemies and to support the leader against any and all dissenting views. It becomes the duty of every citizen to inform on any suspicious types, especially minorities. It becomes the civic duty to attend rallies and applaud like your life depended on it.
All this would lead one to believe that the concept of civic duty is well and truly dead. Yet, Dr. Ford was apparently not the last surviving believer.
Civic Duty and Moral Obligations
The idea of civic duty surfaced again this week when three Yale classmates, drinking pals of Kavanaugh, decided to step out of the comfortable shadows of anonymity.
In an op-ed piece in Thursday's Washington Post. the trio wrote that Brett Kavanaugh had lied to the Senate when he stated under oath that he never drank to the point of forgetting what he was doing.
They knew it for a fact because they too drank too much but they never lied under oath about it.
The op-ed said:
"None of this is what we wanted, but we felt it our civic duty to speak the truth and say that Brett lied under oath while seeking to become a Supreme Court justice. That is our one and only message, but it is a significant one.
But the article doesn't stop there.
"For we each believe that telling the truth, no matter how difficult, is a moral obligation for our nation's leaders. No one should be able to lie their way onto the Supreme Court. Honesty is the glue that holds together a society of laws. Lies are the solvent that dissolves those bonds."Kavanaugh's obvious and opportunistic lies awakened the consciences of a few people who were in a position to say something. For them, it was both a civic duty and a moral responsibility to say something, to do something now. To risk perhaps their jobs, their dignity and their reputations in the name of doing the right thing.
Whether or not Republican senators actually listened is another story.
We shall know shortly.