Civil responsibility

Civil responsibility, also called civic responsibility, refers to citizens' duties to their country and community. Civil responsibility is generally associated with the democratic form of government, in which citizens possess the right to participate in public life. The exercise of civil responsibility may also be called social engagement, as it involves active participation in one's government, church community, and volunteer groups. Civil responsibilities are meant to foster philanthropy in the general population of a nation, as they usually involve citizens educating themselves about public policies and current events so they can then give of themselves to help others. Examples of civil responsibilities in democratic countries include voting in elections, knowing and following the law, serving on a jury when called, volunteering with an activist group, and respecting others' rights and beliefs.

Background

The concept of civil responsibility has existed in human societies since at least the eras of ancient Rome and Greece. The Roman people founded the Roman Republic in 509 BCE. The republic was a revolutionary form of government for the time. It allowed citizens to elect representatives to govern for them. Full citizens of the Roman Republic were males older than fifteen who had descended from any of the original Roman tribes.

These citizens could vote and were encouraged to do so, as participating in the advancement of society was considered a virtue. Romans took their cue in this regard from Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a statesman and military general who lived from 519 to 430 BCE. Many Romans greatly admired Cincinnatus based on an often-told story about his upstanding character. The man had retired from public life and was now living and working, in old age, on a small farm outside Rome. The city was then facing an invasion by a fierce enemy, and the Roman government felt that only Cincinnatus could repel the attackers.

Upon being asked to become temporary dictator of Rome, Cincinnatus promptly left his plow and guided the Roman army to triumph over the invaders. When the threat was eliminated, Cincinnatus gave up his power and returned to farming. The Romans hailed him as a hero, for he shunned wealth and prestige in favor of the simple life of a farmer but had still fulfilled his duty to Rome when called upon. Cincinnatus continued to be upheld as a kind of folk hero upon whom Roman citizens should model their own lives.

Civil responsibility also existed in ancient Greece, but in a much different way. As in Rome, only free adult men were considered citizens of the Greek city of Athens, but here, all citizens were required by law to participate in their government. Athenian government was a democracy, meaning all citizens voted on matters of state. Those who did not were punished with fines and by having their clothes marked with red paint. This way, Athenians could identify all those who had not attended the public assemblies where voting took place. This was the extent to which Athenians believed citizens should perform their duties to their government.

The idea of civil responsibility appeared again about 2,000 years later in the young United States. From the nation's founding in the late eighteenth century, the American people viewed civil responsibility as any work that contributed to the advancement of their communities and, in turn, the country. Therefore, merchants, public-sector volunteers, and other common laborers were said to contribute more to American society than wealthy, respectable members of the upper class who simply pursued personal leisure. Americans' exercise of civil responsibility greatly increased in the 1960s, when many people became politically active to try to enact social change in the United States. Awareness of civil responsibilities continued in the United States and other democratic countries into the twenty-first century.

Overview

Many Americans are first taught about civil responsibilities as children, since parents and teachers want to instill in them lifelong respect and love for their country. Parents can explain to their children the qualities they believe make the United States unique in the world. They can take their children to the polls with them and describe the voting process. Parents can also inform their children, as they grow into teenagers and young adults, of the importance of social awareness. This is knowledge of social problems and other current events that can possibly be changed by social activism. Children who respond positively to their parents' influences may grow into adults who care deeply about their community and country, so they vote, volunteer, and take other actions to improve them.

The US federal government plays a similar guiding role with immigrants seeking to become citizens of the United States. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which manages immigration to the United States, claims that American citizenship offers people many rights but also requires them to fulfill numerous civil responsibilities. These include knowing and supporting the Constitution, being informed of current events in one's community and the country, participating in American democracy by voting for government representatives, obeying all laws, dutifully paying taxes, serving on a jury if called, and defending the United States from external threats if necessary.

Other Western countries, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, promote the same types of civil rights to their citizens. Australia, however, is an outlier in this group because, although the country features a democratic voting system, voting is compulsory for all citizens aged eighteen and older. Critics of the law argue that, despite the fact that voting is indeed a civil responsibility that the populace should exercise, mandatory voting has no place in a democratic system. Supporters of Australia's law claim if voting were not compulsory, few Australians would vote. Australia is not alone in its compulsory voting. Greece also has compulsory voting, though it rarely enforces the law. Bulgaria passed a law in 2016 for mandatory voting after record low turnouts in elections.

Analysts have noted declining political interest in the American and British populations. For the last several decades of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, voter turnout in the United States hovered between 48 percent and 57 percent, although the late 2010s and 2020s showed a rise to around 60 percent. This was well behind many other developed countries such as New Zealand, Norway, and Denmark, where voter turnout percentages ranged from 60 to 80 percent. Some in the United Kingdom wondered whether a law was necessary to coerce people to vote, since voter turnout there was continually dismal. Opponents of such a law argued that British citizens would continue registering to vote based on a sense of obligation to fulfill their civil responsibilities. Some British social activists maintained that the desire to perform civic duties was lessening among the British people.

Bibliography

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