Citizen Hat

By John Chambers

We wear many hats in life, but often neglected is the Citizen Hat.

You remember the old story of Ben Franklin, when he came out of the Constitutional Convention?  A Mrs. Powel anxiously asked Franklin: “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”

“A republic,” answered Franklin, “if you can keep it.

You keep the republic by wearing your hat, as a Citizen.

Many people, you included, see that our republic has come to the edge of the abyss and we are about to lose it.  We are desparate for the Hat of a Citizen so we can wear it and pull our republic back from the brink.

Suddenly, folks are grabbing their copies of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and Federalist Papers, feverishly reading, hoping these documents will tell them what to do as a Citizen.

Those documents will give you an idea of ‘how things ought to be’ but they are the job description of the government, not the job description of a citizen.  You need them to do your job, but where is the description of your job?

Government schools taught you civics, but not your job as a citizen.

Some folks aim to rally the citizenry by writing blogs and putting up websites.  They inform other citizens of things that need to be done.  These are important, but how can you tell if you are being rallied for another round of “hope and change”?  And how does blogging and participating in tea party rallys fit into the overall job of a citizen?

http://www.citizenhat.org is devoted to the description of your job as a citizen.  It’s not fancy and no interactive games, but if you put in 20 or 30 minutes, starting with the first link, you will begin to learn your job, starting with the definition of citizen.  It may be different than you think.

Only a citizenry wearing their Citizen Hat will keep the Republic.

(What’s the difference between a Republic and a Democracy, anyway?  See pages 13-17 of the Citizen Hat, first link at http://www.citizenhat.org )