A BILL OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Prolog – We the People of the United States of America, having enjoyed the benefits of freedom assured by The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution (The Bill of Rights) for over two hundred years, have come to recognize that we who enjoy the free exercise of those rights thereby incur responsibilities which are inherent to that exercise. We declare that recognizing and honoring these responsibilities is essential to the preservation of the rights, themselves, for rights exercised irresponsibly can lead to their extinction. A society which is excessively afflicted by those who by perpetrating unwholesome acts seek to plumb the limits of its tolerance, may be tempted to curtail a fundamental right in order to rid itself of its aggravators; thus liberty becomes hostage to her exploiters.
The founding fathers clearly operated under the tacit assumption that our society as a whole would recognize (as was the case in their day) these responsibilities and that these responsibilities would be met in the good judgement of the great majority of our citizens.
And thus it was indeed, through most of our history.
We the people, recognizing the perilous temptation to curtail our rights by proscribing the behavior of those extremists who undermine rights by their abuse, do proclaim and support this Bill of Responsibilities.
Unlike the Bill of Rights, these responsibilities have no force in law, their violation is not necessarily grounds for prosecution by any magistrate, nor may this bill alone be the basis for such prosecution, because to so act would weaken the Bill of Rights, itself. Our hope and expectation is that all will recognize that this Bill of Responsibilities codifies behavior expected of most of its members by a tolerant and healthy society. The penalty for nonobservance of these responsibilities will reside in the conscience of the violator and in the contempt of society for the violator’s behavior. This Bill of Responsibilities can clarify society’s recognition of extreme behavior and, by reaffirming that tolerance is also concomitant to rights, put such behavior in its place without jeopardizing its free exercise. Freedom of speech does not include the right to shout fire in a crowded theater, but we dare not curtail that freedom in order to eliminate the occasional shouter.

Note: Each Article in this Bill corresponds to a similarly numbered Article in the Bill of Rights

A BILL OF RESPONSIBILITIES

ARTICLE I.
Freedom of religion includes the individual right to freedom from religion, but the responsible atheist neither supports nor condones abridgement of religious freedom of believers.
Although criticism and controversy are essential elements of freedom of speech, and religion is frequently subjected to both, to be abusively disrespectful of any organized belief or allegiance by word or deed is an irresponsible misuse of both freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
The responsible exerciser of the right of free speech does not shout down another speaker.
The exerciser of press freedom, expressed in the printed or any other medium, assumes a responsibility to expressly acknowledge the exerciser’s own prejudices and to separate objective fact from subjective opinion.
The responsible exercisers of the right of peaceable assembly do not do so for the purpose of impeding other’s rights such as passage or access.

ARTICLE II.
Exercise of the right to keep and bear arms incurs a responsibility to recognize the inherent dangers they present and to neither keep, bear nor expose them irresponsibly.

ARTICLE III.
A well regulated military force being necessary to the security of a free state, citizens incur a responsibility to respect those who serve in their defense, whether or not the service, itself meets with their individual approval.

ARTICLE IV.
A warrant issued in substantially proper order by a duly constituted authority should not be challenged irresponsibly nor its purpose negated by reason of trivial and immaterial imperfections in either its formulation or its exercise.
The right of personal security implies acceptance of responsibility for one’s person; one cannot default that responsibility by voluntarily accepting dependency and then reasonably claim selective independence. Each citizen bears an inherent responsibility to exert every reasonable effort within their capabilities and limitations, to achieve and maintain a self-reliant, responsible lifestyle. The corollary responsibility of society is to create conditions which will allow that reasonable effort to be successful.

ARTICLE V.
It is irresponsible to exploit legal safeguards which are intended to protect the right of an accused to due process in order to impede, delay or circumvent that due process.
ARTICLE VI. A speedy trial having been declared a right of an accused, the implication is that the innocent defendant will seek a rapid resolution of the accusation. A corollary is that delaying tactics may be employed by a guilty party to put off the inevitable results of judgement. As “justice delayed is justice denied”, the responsible citizen will avoid tactics which delay the inevitable and create an accompanying implication of guilt, and a responsible society will provide the resources essential to speedy trials.

ARTICLE VII.
While our nation has prospered and intrinsic monetary value has changed, the process of selecting the members of a jury has become a fine art. Though the dollar may have been devalued, human values dare not be. It remains the responsibility of the judicial system to assure that juridical processes still hold the pursuit of justice as their highest goal, not the pursuit of the most elegant brief or the cleverest trick.

ARTICLE VIII.
“Let the punishment fit the crime”, indeed. In civil tort cases the perceived “deep pockets” of most corporations derive from the many individuals from whom the corporate treasure is gleaned, and excessive awards ultimately burden the public. Nor is the capricious enrichment of random victims an efficient manner of remedying irresponsible behavior. Instead, it breeds generations of legal vultures, bent upon opportunistic self-enrichment. It remains the role of the courts to right wrongs, and their responsibility to assure just compensation for damages sustained; not to operate a lottery.

ARTICLE IX.
As our civilization becomes increasingly complex we thank our founding fathers for yet another measure of their foresight; as human capabilities broaden, they impose increasing burdens of choice on us all. Onerous as these new burdens may at times be, we shirk them at our peril; let those who shirk responsibilities, who shun responsibility for their own fate, as well as those who would usurp the personal responsibilities of others, recognize that they do so at the price of liberty, not just for themselves, but for us all.

ARTICLE X.
Let us all recognize that responsibility for our own fate, in life and at the end of life, is clearly part of the pursuit of happiness and is retained by the people, as individuals. In this free land we are and shall remain “the masters of our fate; the captains of our souls”.

ARTICLE XI
Epilog – The founding fathers, however prescient, did not specify all of our rights and imply their concomitant responsibilities, as some rights were considered inherent and unalienable by their nature. Some of these rights we now recognize to be jeopardized by an advancing technological civilization, with implied responsibilities which require our recognition and observance. Among these are the right to breathe clean air, to enjoy uncontaminated natural environments, to endow our descendants with an unspoiled ecosystem and to design a progressive civilization which allows open ended growth while closing the ecological cycle in a manner benign not only to mankind but to a balance of life on this Earth and in our universe. Let us recognize and acknowledge our responsibility to pass on to our children a world not only free, but also healthy for all useful life forms and therefore healthy for them.

Let us pledge by adopting this Bill of Responsibilities for this and all generations which follow, that we recognize, accept and will exercise our increasing responsibility for the well being of our universe and for a balance of all life forms now here on Earth or which may be encountered in the future, so help us God.
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Copyright 1992/99/2007
Reproduction encouraged provided author is credited
William E. Haynes
I certify that this document is my personal, unique product, and expresses my own thoughts and ideas. It is provided for the reader’s evaluation and consideration, with the hope that wider dissemination may lead to its wide public acceptance as a guide in dealing with irresponsible behavior.