The Duty of the Citizen

The Duty of the Citizen

The dangerous element of democracy in its present incarnation is that the control and manipulation of the majority is the route to success. Success in politics is not contingent upon the most sound moral and logical principles but simply on the largest amount of votes. Moral and logical responsibility is not a necessary condition for a political candidate. If you want to be voted into power, the facts, evidence, and critical reasoning of the few is irrelevant. A scientifically- and logically-illiterate society is dangerous for precisely this reason.

It would be a drastically different issue if the state we're trying to disallow the people from any attempt at gaining scientific or logic literacy. Quite the opposite is true; libraries are abundant and educational institutions are accessible. The issue, I argue, is with the people, not the state. 

Given that is perfectly plausible for citizens to equip themselves with the requisite degree of reasoning skills and for citizens to study through the internet at their leisure, we categorically possess the ability to change our society. If you disagree with a particular moral stance of our society, provide sufficient reasoning and make your case, don't just disagree and scoff. If you feel your reasoning is sufficiently competent to challenge or inform  our politicians, do it! There are public meetings which are frequently held for the purpose of discussion amongst local constituents. 

Additionally, through the medium of technology, skilful argumentation is rewarded and shared. This is the "viral" phenomenon enabled by each citizen being equipped with a universally-connective device. If you really disagree, not out of pure emotion but ethically and reasonably, with a particular component or element of our society, you can challenge it. Anytime, anywhere. You could fight animal captivity on the toilet, or pollution while waiting for the bus. There's a word-processing app on every smartphone, it's not just an accessory, it's there for important reasons, one of which being the equipping of each citizen with the means to give input.

The duty of the citizen, however, is often a humble and unrecognized performance. It is a silent performance in many cases, a performance of choices. Society is a construct of collective individuals, with each individual's decisions contributing to the status of the state. For example, the task of reducing human kinds ecological impact first begins in the realm of collective individuals, with each citizen diligently recycling and earnestly working towards fewer emissions. More car porting and bicycling. It begins with the collective realm of individuals deciding they no longer need coca cola or any other arbitrary product which contributes to corporate-greed. 

The duty of the citizen, in an ideal democracy, is a cumbersome yet intrinsically rewarding task. It involves each citizen regularly expanding their reason and examining everything without prejudice. It often involves tasks for which there is no praise, no monetary compensation or congratulations. It doesn't involve the competition of capitalism but the unification under moral-law. Where we choose the most ethically sound course of action rather than the most immediately-satisfying course of action. It involves arduous studying,  a slow-development of rationality in each person. It is in our duty itself we find reward, it is from the duty itself that we slowly construct the ideal-society.