The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, a new book by Richard Haass, has been placed on my short list of recommended books. Let me explain why.
“Bill of Obligations” makes a powerful point. Enshrined in our Constitution is a Bill of Rights but no bill of obligations. The author, Richard Haass, had a long and distinguished career in the federal government. He served in senior positions in the State Department and the White House. He worked closely with Presidents from both political parties. Richard Haass writes with authority about the duties of citizenship. The ten obligations which he highlights are as follows.
- Stay informed
- Get involved
- Be open to compromise
- Remain civil
- Reject violence
- Value norms
- Promote the common good
- Respect government service
- Support civics education
- Put country first
What to like about this book? For one, it is short. Taking away the index and end notes, it is less than 200 pages. Secondly, no fancy language or complex academic concepts. It has a good summary of the origins of our constitutional system. Last, but not least, it is generally optimistic about the future. It can inspire readers in a significant way.
However, as you will see below, there may be other obligations of citizenship that should be considered. All of these examples are based on my personal experiences.
One obligation not covered is the obligation to warn. In the summer of 2019, I sent a written warning to a high-level official in the Department of Defense, Mark Esper. The warning was quite explicit—be prepared to defend the constitution. The model I used was Secretary of Defense Jim Schlesinger during the latter days of the Nixon administration. In the early 1970’s, there was a danger that President Nixon, in a desperate attempt to save his job, might use the military in an inappropriate way. If you turn this page over, you will see a copy of the letter to Esper. One month later, Esper became the Secretary of Defense. The vote in the Senate was 90 in favor and eight opposed. In November 2020, after serving for 15 months, Mark Esper was fired by President Trump.
Another obligation is the obligation to criticize. Examples are letters which were sent this week to some journalists and members of Congress. These folks are taking radical, in some cases, anti-democratic, positions on important national issues. Each one was urged to act more responsibly in their words and actions.
A third obligation is to blow the whistle publicly when something is going on that is terribly wrong. Of course, blowing the whistle should be done internally before going public with your concerns. A good example of this approach is when CNN, in 1998, produced its bogus nerve gas special. I tried to stop the special from going on air. Later is urged a retraction. When I totally failed in both endeavors, I quit CNN and went public with my concerns. CNN later retracted the story and fired the two producers.
A fourth obligation is the obligation to praise. A handwritten letter to Brad Raffensperger is an example of a strong desire to praise someone. My purpose was to support someone who had done the right thing, but was receiving heavy criticism and death threats. Soon thereafter, Raffensperger phoned me to ask that I endorse his forthcoming book, “Integrity Counts.” I did so with pleasure.
In future articles for the Augusta Business Daily, I will recommend a book or two. One of my favorite quotes reads as follows: “Reading books can seriously damage your ignorance.”
Major General Perry Smith’s most recent book is his autobiography, “Listen Up: Stories from Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, the Pentagon, CNN and Beyond.”
In this book, there are nine flying stories (including four combat stories), five Pentagon stories, four lacrosse stories, five West Point stories, and Smith’s story of witnessing the attack on Pearl Harbor when he was a small boy.
