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The citizens of the United States have the right to exercise their democratic rights as stated by the law. This does not in any way discriminate against any of the citizens as recognized by the law. The rule of law protects the United States citizens and ensures that they live by it. This helps in controlling crime against fellow citizens thus protecting them. This offers a guarantee on security since any misconduct is punishable by the state. Therefore, it is up to the United States’ citizens to ensure that no one is infringing on another person rights.
Despite the obligation to consider other people’s rights, many have taken it to be a personal consideration. The United States is considered the most classical liberal policy. This emphasizes upon civic virtue, moral education and considering others before personal demands. This position promotes individualism rather than teamwork (Carens, 2000). Liberalism emphasizes on the philosophy of natural rights. These may include but are not limited to, right to life and right to own property. These citizens are free to follow on what they term important to them and determine what is good or bad. This perspective leans more to ethics. The government in place serves the primary purpose of securing these rights. In the event that it fails, the citizens have the right to alter or terminate the serving government.
Liberalism is associated with a strong distrust of the state and a belief that the government should be limited regarding the extent to which citizens are controlled. The reasoning is that individuals insist that they have rights, and no one should encroach on such freedoms. Therefore, it is believed that social and group rights should not be accepted as they are seen to violate liberal principles. Individual rights are the most important but no one is obligated to anyone else. This has brought about mixed feelings in the country as others believe that teamwork is the way to go.
Those, whose position is against the liberal principles, believe in communitarian policies. The position of communitarianism suggests that support from each other, and group activities build a good society (Carens, 2000). They believe in the existence of rights, but the obligation to a team comes first. Theorists supporting this position lean more towards the obligations of the citizens rather than on their rights. This principle values the community’s needs and demands as a whole, rather than the individual’s. A team is more likely to succeed in implementing any venture as compared to an individual.
The question is: Which way should the country go? Should the citizens obligations weigh more than their rights or are these two positions coexistent? It is evident that rights cannot exist without obligations though obligations can exist without rights (Archibugi, 2008). This is something the citizens on the U.S should realize while weighing their options. Hence, a major goal should be to help people assume their roles as citizens of a democratic state (Archibugi, 2008).
It is important to have a more organized concept of the rights and obligations of people, as citizens of the U.S. Citizens should stand up for their rights. Put differently, they should play a part in ensuring that rights and obligations are not neglected. A survey showed that 90% of American citizens believed that a trial by a jury is a right (Carens, 2000). Despite this statistic, only 14% of these citizens were willing to serve as a juror. As a citizen in the United States, one should prioritize identifying their rights and obligations, in addition to exercising them. The rule of law provides a guide towards a citizens rights but it is only these citizens that can apply them.
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