American Virtues Come to the Fore

The Founders of our country understood the importance of good citizenship, and they understood what made someone a good citizen.  To be a good citizen is to embody certain virtues, such as self-reliance, responsibility, honesty, charity, loyalty, and respect for the law.

These virtues are the strength of our nation and are necessary for our experiment in self-government.  As President Bush has said, “when this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it.  When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.”

Modern times have tested these virtues—and the traditional notion of citizenship—but they are still there to be called upon every day.  They enable us to meet tragic events in extraordinary times, and in ordinary times, to take back responsibility for ourselves and for the problems in our communities: drugs, crime, a faltering education system, family breakdown, and a corrosive popular culture.

Extraordinary times bring out the best in American virtues.  When terrorists attacked us on September 11, American virtues came to the fore. Unselfishly, firefighters, police, emergency teams, and ordinary citizens helped people escape the disasters in lower Manhattan and the Pentagon. The passengers of Flight 93 spontaneously rose up against the terrorists, saving untold numbers of lives though they lost their own. Wall Street put itself back into operation just days after the fall of the World Trade Center towers. Charitable giving soared to aid the victims.

After the devastating hurricanes in 2005, citizen rescuers from all over America went to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to help distribute aid and restore basic functioning to communities after the floods receded. And to assist those who have left the devastated areas, state governments, educational institutions, and private individuals helped resettle hurricane evacuees by the thousands. In Arizona, everyone from physicians to newspaper journalists to church members held fund-raisers and sent the proceeds to the American Red Cross or other organizations tending to the hurricane victims. Around 700 evacuees arrived at the Veterans' Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix and the Tucson Convention Center in September 2005. There they received medical visits, and advice in finding a job and making a new life in our state. Not all ended up adopting Arizona as their new home, but many did.

This philanthropic spirit is evident even when we are compelled to defend our values abroad. Our soldiers overseas are not only engaging the enemy in battles, they are helping to rebuild war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq.

But, extraordinary, trying times also challenge our American virtues.  In difficult times, it is tempting to retreat from these virtues and avoid making tough decisions.  Tough circumstances provide chances to rise to the occasion, but also to shrink from duty.

 

09/11/08 Kyl Statement on 9/11 Anniversary

08/18/08 Reinvigorating Citizenship

03/12/07 Supporting Stem-Cell Research

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