The Yellow Ribbon Syndrome - Part III
AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 101
The name “citizen” is typically used to describe a person owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people, thus sharing in the political rights of those people.
It has been presumed, since this country was founded, that it had been done so with a “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
United States citizens pay taxes to their government so that it should be able to carry out the functions which oversee the needs of all people in its daily operations.
United States citizens should be able to see the benefits of the money they have paid in the programs, policies and laws created to ensure that each person is treated fairly according to their needs, not their personal contribution to the treasury.
Equal Rights under the Law.
The foundation of our country “of the people” is the Constitution- a set of laws developed after careful thought to encompass the rights of all people, in fairness, with principles deriving from the laws which guide the consciences of all men who live with careful respect for humanity.
Our founding fathers gave their own blood for the right to live by the laws they incorporated into our Constitution. Our founding fathers earned the right to declare themselves free, not to live with no regard for the rights of others, but to live according to the rule of law they gave their own blood to defend – giving all people the same opportunity for freedom as long as they adhered to the principles of a constitution based on the rights of all humanity.
With this freedom comes great responsibility – a responsibility owned by all Americans. We all have the right to live as we choose, but only if, in our actions, we consider the rights of others to live as they choose as well, even if their choices oppose ours. If we are not willing to respect the rights of others in our actions – we do not have the right to expect our rights to be respected in return.
We cannot demand right action from anyone – unless we are willing to demand adherence to right action in ourselves. THIS is the price of freedom –the sacrifice we all must make. We must remain vigilant in our adherence to the laws of our constitution, at the same time respecting the rights of others to live in their own way.
The sacrifice becomes a willing compromise – a mandatory compromise – if the intent of our constitution is to be upheld.
Military personnel VOLUNTEER to serve this country in a capacity that fulfills their duty to one aspect of our constitution – the DEFENSE of the laws and policies agreed and adhered to by our entire citizenship.
Military personnel do not give up their right to citizenship simply because they volunteer to defend the laws of our land. There are some aspects of the responsibility of citizenship that fall outside the duty of our military personnel once they have committed to their defined service.
In defense of our laws it becomes a conflict of interest for military personnel to also define the laws. It is up to the civilians of this country to fulfill their duty to this country in a form of service other than a call to arms.
The service required of the American citizens is to see that as our soldiers are called to defend the laws of our land, the laws they defend remain just, fair and responsible to the laws of humanity as our Constitution was written.
During peace times, the American soldier trains – preparing himself for the possibility of a need to defend our country’s laws and way of life. Often, during peace times, the soldier’s efforts are unnoticed by the average American citizen.
Even as soldiers continue to maintain their strength and the strength of our military, American citizens live their lives seemingly oblivious to the fact that as our soldiers train and prepare so to should they.
If the American citizens will not be as vigilant of their duties and responsibilities to serve this country during peace times – then it is only to be expected that our soldiers might one day face the very situation we now find them in – fighting in an immoral, unjustified war with no end in sight, as citizens who should have been prepared, finally begin to wake up to the fact that they are the ones who must act to bring about that end.
American citizens have waited too long, and the result of their inaction?? – soldiers and civilians die, more each day, while not only is the country of Iraq being destroyed, but our own country is losing a part of itself as well. Sadly, this is a repeat performance as American citizens’ complacency during peace times have led to unjust, immoral wars before.
The American citizens have equal responsibility in ensuring that our country remains safe. Our military personnel are being used – our military personnel are being taken advantage of. It is easy for the American citizenship to blame our administration and our congress for being corrupt, inattentive, selfish and misguided.
If there is evidence and support that illegal acts have been committed, then there must be appropriate consequences.
One has to ask, however, in this country “of the people, by the people and for the people” where it is the American citizens who are responsible for guiding the government in its actions, why are our leaders so misguided?
Every day we receive email alerts from organizations asking for support of actions of resistance against this war. Soldiers are encouraged to seek sanctuary in churches offering support for deserters.
Soldiers are encouraged to speak out against the actions of their leadership and to break existing military laws in an effort to stop this war. Soldiers should not be in this position. It is not their responsibility.
The American citizens did not do their work; they have failed in the fulfillment of their duty to this country. Freedom is not free – we all have a part to play in seeing that our country remain strong and just, in freedom.
Every day that another soldier crosses the line in an effort to address immoral and unjust acts which our American citizens will not stand to change – every day that American citizens expect a soldier to take actions in their name by violating the military code of order, we become a little less free.
Every day that an American citizen believes that by acting against one of the constitutional laws of our land in an effort to make a statement against the war, or the misconduct of those in our government’s leadership positions, we become a little less free.
We cannot create counter-recruiting campaigns to steer our youth away from a military career without presenting an alternative form of service. Avoiding the military does not mean that a citizen does not have to accept a responsibility to serve their country.
We cannot expect to defend the integrity of our system of laws, holding those accountable for their unlawful actions, unless we are willing to hold ourselves accountable to the laws we believe others have violated.
We cannot expect a just government if we are not willing to use our constitutional system of justice to bring consequences against those who have been found to commit illegal acts.
We cannot expect our military to take responsibility for our mistakes.
Until we have stopped and taken a good hard look at the mistakes we have made, and considered American citizens’ responsibility in our current debacle our military will continue to pay the price.
What price are you willing to pay for your freedom?
Monica Benderman is a Senior Staff Writer for Choice America Network. She has been widely published throughout the Internet and Newspapers around the world. Her husband is Sgt. Kevin Benderman. You may contact her at mdawnb@coastalnow.net
Copyright 2006 EvansMediaUSA
