The Bill of Obligations

After a recent rereading of the Bill of Rights, I was given a nudge to read The Bill of Obligations, written in 2023, the chosen book for my local book club. In his preface, Haas notes the current political divisions in our country, brought on by the incidents of January 6, 2021, and suggests that they raise questions about the integrity of American democracy. He describes himself as “not partisan,” and we have to take him at his word. I hope you don’t stop reading here, because I have no desire to discuss politics, only wanting you to consider these ten “obligations” for citizens that seem to me to be the baseline for individual responsibilities in American society.

Haas begins, in the chapter titled “Rights and Their Limits,” by explaining that the need for republicanism—“representative governments exercising authority in the name of the people and held accountable to them”—led to the creation of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Haas goes on to investigate the deterioration of democracy, believing that the differences in beliefs about the “rights” of citizens have led to this deterioration.

Hence came The Bill of Obligations, his effort to showcase ten “obligations” that, if followed, might help to narrow the gulf, or at least prevent further expansion of the divide between those with differing views. Though he believes strongly in the necessity of changing the divisiveness of the current political climate, Haas concedes that because of the reality of changes, few are likely to happen, “in no small part because the same problems that have led to the weakening of democracy here make it difficult to fix it. It is not just that the process of reform is arduous; it is more that those who perceive that the changes would restrain their rights will oppose them. This is where obligations come in: American democracy will work, and reform will prove possible only if obligations join rights at center stage.”

Here then are the ten obligations:

Obligation I—Be Informed

Obligation II—Get Involved

Obligation III—Stay Open to Compromise

Obligation IV—Remain Civil

Obligation V—Reject Violence

Obligation VI—Value Norms

Obligation VII—Promote the Common Good

Obligation VIII—Respect Government Service

Obligation IX—Support the Teaching of Civics

Obligation X—Put Country First

These are not difficult obligations to achieve or believe in, all being positive suggestions toward living in harmony in your community. They are not mandates, but a reasonable set of values for all of us to explore and try to live within. Interestingly, having gotten feedback from two book groups with different political alignments, both groups agreed that the list of obligations had value, with one of the main points of consensus being to “support the teaching of civics.” I think that means we all need to try to have our children become better citizens than we have been, a difficult task, since we haven’t always been good role models.

This is a book worth reading, even if you just read Haas’s obligations, a balance to the many rights we have and enjoy in these United States.