Two events happened in one week that had implications for citizenship. First was the tragic January 8, 2011 shooting in Tucson and the other less tragic January 14, 2011 statement by our very own Governor Paul LePage. Both of these events made national news, showing us (as citizens) what it is like to be a bad citizen.
The shooting that occurred on January 8, 2011 devastated and scared people all over our great nation. As a citizen in the legal sense, the Bill of Rights say that we have the right to bear arms and protect ourselves. However, in the moral sense we have a duty to not go shooting people just because we feel like it or don't like someone. If we see our own citizens going around shooting each other, this sets a bad example on all our other citizens in the United States.
Governor Paul LePage's statement "kiss my butt" that made national news may have come as a shock to some. As a citizen in the legal sense, we have the right to freedom of speech. We should be able to say what we feel and make statements that are our opinions. However, our Governor is not only just a citizen, but he is also a political figure. In the moral senese, he has certain duties. He should be attending all these political invitations. He should be setting an example as a leader and not going around saying "kiss my butt" like a five-year-old would do.
So just becausee we, as citizens, have rights to freedom of speech, to bear arms, etc. doesn't mean that we have the duty to say things that embarrass or hurt people. We don't have a duty to go shooting people that we don't like. We do have the duty to work together and to keep each other safe.
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