2nd Day of Classes

I was doing a little bit of reading in my American Heritage book tonight, and I came across this segment that I really like. It brings into focus all the responsibilities and jobs that any government has. (It's long, but it's a quickie to read!)

"A well-founded government must take human nature-complex and unpredictable-fully into account. In order to protect its people from each other, the government must know all the ways in which human beings might be victimized. Tougher still, it must be able to protect the people from itself, for rulers are also human. To the extent that government is like a machine, the machine must be able to perform a bewildering array of tasks without resorting to oppression. It must heed the majority will without being unjust to minorities. It must spell out rights and duties and give substance to both. It must allow for the equal treatment of others, based on standards of fairness. It must be able to build roads and dredge harbors and educate children and keep military forces at the ready. Trickiest of all, it must guard human freedom, which by its very nature is at odds with the idea of governance. John Adams once observed that the sound design and effective operation of such a machine were almost beyond the wit of man."

-Frank W. Fox and Clayne L. Pope, City upon a Hill, Second Edition

It made me realize that it's okay for the government to slip up a little bit every once in a while, because our leaders really do have a lot to worry about. Being in charge of a government is an overwhelming responsibility!

That's not to say that we shouldn't voice our opinions and ask for change when we think things need to be changed, but we as Americans need to remain civilized in doing so, and we shouldn't expect perfection from our government or government officials.

Rights and Responsibilities. We all want and expect our rights, but how quick are we to forget our responsibilities that we have as citizens? Just something to think about.