Rights and Responsibilities

When I think of America, I think of freedom and citizenship. The right to vote, or the right to freely speak are things that we, as citizens, posses. We as citizens have rights, and then we have responsibilites. Citizens are expected to know and understand the rules that the government has presented to us, and abide by these rules for our freedom. In 1791, the Constitution of the United States was amended and we were given the ten amendments, which is also known as the Bill of Rights, to protect our freedoms. The Bill of Rights is a list of the rights citizens have and value. The purpose of the bill is to protext against any infringement from the government, so the citizens can live in a free nation and have control over their communities and lives. As citizens we should know what the government is doing and to voice your opinion when we feel strongly about something the government has done or has failed to do. Being informed also means knowing your rights and exercising them when you feel it is necessary. Voting is one of your most important responsibilities as a citizen. By doing so you exercise your right of self-government. When you vote you are choosing the people that are going to run our government. Taking the responsibility to vote ensures that leadership is changed in an orderly manner. Another responsibility we as Americans have is to participate in the community and govrnment, if we had no one to run our country it would be pretty caotic, and if no one would ever speak out, no problems in the community would get solved. If we have people involved in the community its more likely to be well run. To enjoy your rights to the fullest, you must be prepared to respect other people's rights as well. For example, as a hairdresser, you are taught to only ask certain questions so that way you don't offend anyone. Of if you live in an area with a lot of neighbors, be respectful and keep the volume on your television down, or on your stereo. You should expect they would do the same for you. Also you have the responsibility to show respect to the public, and the publics property. For example, a lot of kids write on the picnic tables at the beach, and that is vandalism, they have yet to be caught so they haven't learned but thats disrespectful to the other people that come to sit there and eat. Especially when they write or draw innapropriate things.