It seems that the average American today is most concernted about his/her rights. Our high school students seem to have the right to create an atmosphere which will keep others from learning; dress codes, rules of proper speech and behavior, and the obligaton to get academic work accomplished seem to be forbidden. We are teaching our future citizens that life is all about rights.Certainly, our founding fathers wrote the Bill of Rights for a reason. They specifically listed those ‘rights of Englishmen’ that they were being denied–and a few others.br /br /Our constitution is all about rights. But rights don’t just happen. They must be earned and defended. And earning and defending is about duty. Duty requires discipline and focus.It’s time for America to realize that we are at war; our rights are under attack by people who have publically (in the Arab press) stated that they want to kill all of us. If we are more concerned with who is on American Idol or other such fluff than we are our duty to protect and defend our country (and our rights) we are vulnerable, indeed.br /br /I don’t suggest that we replace our rights with our duty; I do suggest that the duty of citizenship be granted at least equal status with our rights. If the courts won’t permit our schools to instill discipline and values in our students, then let us do it (it’s our responsibility to raise our kids, anyway–not the government’s). Let us strongly encourage youngsters to join our military because it’s the right thing to do.br /br /Let’s both talk the talk and walk the walk of duty to our country. Part of that is electing officials, from school board members, to judges, to presidents who will lead our communities and nation to an understanding of the need for a sense of duty, to God and country, as paramont in our lives.br /br /It’s not someone else’s job to protect our freedoms and rights. That duty belongs to each and every American citizen.
