A Bill of Responsibilities

We the people, recognizing that the rights we enjoy are sustained by the responsibilities we share, establish this Bill of Responsibilities as a reminder that citizenship is not only about what we are free to receive, but also about what we are willing to contribute.

Article I — The Responsibility to Participate

We have the responsibility to participate in the communities in which we live.

We shall not assume that the work of building a better community belongs only to government, nonprofits, businesses, or someone else.

Where we see a problem, we should ask:

What can I do?

Article II — The Responsibility to Serve

Every person possesses something of value that can benefit another.

We have the responsibility, when reasonably able, to share a portion of our time, knowledge, skills, resources, attention, or effort in service to others.

Find your gift. Give it away.

Article III — The Responsibility to Respect Human Dignity

We have the responsibility to treat every person with dignity and respect, regardless of their circumstances.

A person’s poverty, homelessness, addiction, disability, mistakes, or misfortune shall not make them less human.

We may disagree with a person’s choices without denying their humanity.

Article IV — The Responsibility to Care for Our Community

We have the responsibility to take reasonable care of the places we share.

Our streets, parks, neighborhoods, public spaces, and natural environment belong to all of us.

We should leave them at least as good as we found them—and, when possible, a little better.

Article V — The Responsibility to Help Where We Can

We have the responsibility to help our neighbors when we are reasonably able to do so.

This does not require us to solve every problem.

It does not require us to sacrifice everything we have.

It simply asks us to recognize that sometimes another person’s burden is something we can help carry.

Article VI — The Responsibility to Be Honest

We have the responsibility to be honest with one another.

We should speak truthfully, keep our promises, acknowledge our mistakes, and be willing to say:

“I was wrong.”

A healthy community cannot be built on deception.

Article VII — The Responsibility to Learn

We have the responsibility to remain curious.

We should be willing to learn about the problems facing our communities before deciding that we already know the answers.

We should ask questions.

We should listen.

We should change our minds when the evidence tells us we should.

Article VIII — The Responsibility to Contribute

We have the responsibility to contribute according to our ability.

Some will contribute money.

Some will contribute labor.

Some will contribute knowledge.

Some will contribute ideas.

Some will contribute compassion.

Some will contribute a place to live.

Some will simply contribute their time.

Not everyone can give the same thing.

But everyone has something they can give.

Article IX — The Responsibility to Look After One Another

We have the responsibility to remember that none of us lives entirely independently of everyone else.

The strength of a community can be measured not only by how well its most successful members are doing, but also by how willing its members are to help one another through difficult times.

Someday, we may be the person who needs the help.

Article X — The Responsibility to Leave Something Better

We have the responsibility to consider what we leave behind.

Our communities are temporary inheritances.

We received them from the people who came before us.

We will leave them to the people who come after us.

We should strive to leave behind more than we consumed.

More kindness than cruelty.

More knowledge than ignorance.

More opportunity than we inherited.

And a community that is at least a little better because we were here.

Rights and Responsibilities

The Bill of Rights tells us what government must not take away from us.

A Bill of Responsibilities would remind us what we should not forget to give to one another.

It wouldn’t need to be enforced by police.

It wouldn’t need a government agency.

It wouldn’t need a fine or a punishment.

It would simply be a promise we make to ourselves and to each other:

I have rights.

You have rights.

And we both have responsibilities.

Maybe that’s what citizenship really means.

Not just asking:

“What am I entitled to?”

But sometimes asking:

“What can I contribute?”

And perhaps the most important responsibility of all is the simplest:

Leave the world a little better than you found it.