{"id":29239,"date":"2026-11-08T16:32:07","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T00:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=29239"},"modified":"2026-11-08T16:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T00:32:07","slug":"richard-haass-the-bill-of-obligations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2026\/11\/08\/richard-haass-the-bill-of-obligations\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Haass, THE BILL OF OBLIGATIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Subtitled \u201cThe Ten Habits of Good Citizens\u201d<br \/>\n<em>(Penguin Press, January 2023, xix + 217pp, including 42pp of acknowledgements, \u201cWhere To Go For More,\u201d notes, and index)<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/haassbo_500x698.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/haassbo_500x698.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Not familiar with this author, who is president of the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations. I was fascinated by this book because first, it\u2019s a counterpart to all those alternate ten commandments lists, and second, it flips the idea of civil \u2018rights,\u2019 wherein the government is obliged to protect certain beliefs and behaviors of individuals, to consider instead \u2018obligations,\u2019 wherein individuals are expected to display certain behaviors toward their fellow citizens. His list is a good one, though I wondered just what he meant by the tenth, \u201cPut Country First.\u201d Over what? We\u2019ll find out.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>He begins by examining the failures of our rights-based democracy: complex problems are not best decided by popular vote, and too many people lack expertise to vote intelligently. And the Constitution was a compromise on some key issues.<\/li>\n<li>Comparing 1968 to Jan 6th, for example, things are getting worse. Our system was set up when the population was comparatively tiny; now we suffer a tyranny of the minority. Institutions are being weakened. Social media has no quality control.<\/li>\n<li>Obligation #1: Be informed. Understand how things work. Understand what facts are.<\/li>\n<li>#2: Get involved. Vote, and do more if you can.<\/li>\n<li>#3: Stay open to compromise. Don&#8217;t hold out for perfection; beware criticism from extremists.<\/li>\n<li>#4: Remain civil. Argue issues, don&#8217;t make things personal.<\/li>\n<li>#5: Reject violence. Using crime for political purposes is terrorism.<\/li>\n<li>#6: Value norms. These are the unwritten traditions, rules, customs, etc., that reduce friction in society. Like looking out for neighbors, and accepting election results.<\/li>\n<li>#7: Promote the common good. We all have a stake in the well-being of our fellow citizens.<\/li>\n<li>#8: Respect government service. People make mistakes, but there are mechanisms for detecting and correcting them. Public service might be incentivized, but not required.<\/li>\n<li>#9: Support the teaching of civics. The basics of American society and economy. Immigrants often know these better than natives.<\/li>\n<li>#10: Put country first. Over party and person. Unlike examples from Republicans and MAGA.<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion: Obligations, along with rights, are at the core of the idea of citizenship. Think institutionally: leave one in better shape than how you found it. We can&#8217;t count on virtue winning out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Several of his points especially resonate with themes on this site. I would extend his obligation #1, be informed, to taking responsibility not to be swindled or fooled by conspiracy theories or disinformation on social media into believing things that are not true. There are too many flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers in the world. A broader point is that virtually every one of these obligations challenge the behavior of MAGA and many Republicans &#8212; though the results of the recent election may show a reversal of this trend.<\/p>\n<p>There some overlap between this book and Robert Reich&#8217;s THE COMMON GOOD (reviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2024\/08\/30\/robert-reich-the-common-good\/\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>When I went to school, there was a course on civics. Three branches of government, how laws are passed, and so on. I don&#8217;t remember what grade; it might have been in elementary school. But I gather these courses have disappeared.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Full Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Preface<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Author asks, what keeps him up at night? Political divisions in the US that are making it impossible to address its problems. Threats to democracy. Jan 6, 2021 was close. Author not particularly partisan. Began as Democrat, moved to Republican, then left that party. Democracy requires more than asserting of rights. Obligations are habits of citizenship that should happen that the law cannot require. \u2026 Our example to the world is also threatened. China would benefit if the US failed.<\/p>\n<p>The book begins by examining how our rights-based democracy is failing. Then, ten obligations that could go a long way to fixing the problem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Part One: The Crisis of Our Rights-Based Democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Rights and Their Limits, p3<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The problem with direct democracy is that most citizens lack the time, interest, or expertise to run their societies. Complex issues are not best decided by popular vote. The solution is said to be republicanism. The Constitution was the second try at establishing a federal government, after the Articles of Confederation. Many issues were in play, including slavery. Checks and balances were important to many of the founders. Powers were shared, or overlap. Compromises were made, ending with the Bill of Rights, in 1791. But they did not address rights of slaves, women, et al. The struggle over rights continues, some about supporting rights, others about opposing them. Examples 12-13. Another debate is about what the government owes its citizens. Safety nets. This book is not about any of those. But about obligations. They are different from requirements. They are more than responsibilities. They are the best fuel for a democracy to function well. This goes beyond the \u2018social contract.\u2019 Quote from Max Arzt\u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>Democratic Deterioration, p17<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We should never take the US for granted; we should worry about its future. The transition from 45 to 46 was not peaceful. In authoritarian countries the leader leads until he does not. The US is supposed to be different. But this time many insisted the election was fraudulent. Something is seriously amiss. Or were the events of 1968 worse? Yet that resolved peacefully. Now things are getting worse. Government jobs go unfilled; debt ceilings; legislation increasingly blocked. And trends in violence: Jan 6<sup>th<\/sup>. Voting rules. It may not lead to civil war, but it can easily lead to acts of violence. Along the lines of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Franklin said, you have a republic, if you can keep it. Then came the Civil War. Adams and Lincoln were not optimistic about the survival of democracy. Many have died in the past, including those overthrown by their militaries. Or decayed from within. Germany, Venezuela. Now the US. There\u2019s a loss of common identity. A country and nation are not the same. We\u2019re divided between red and blue. Things fall apart. The US is built from diversity from around the world. Unlike homogeneous countries in Asia and Europe etc. It\u2019s happening in other nations as well. And authoritarian nations have become even more repressive. And it is difficult to reform the American system. The nation is 100x the population it was when the system was set up. The gap in senatorial representation is substantial. Now we have a tyranny of the minority. P28. Economic inequality erodes the feeling that we\u2019re all part of one community. And of economic opportunity. For many there is no upward mobility. Economic insecurity. The financial crisis, and other problems. Wars of choice. The weakening of intermediary institutions, like travel agencies. And political parties. Via technology. Decades ago TV was a shared experience. Not now, not with social media. With no quality control. Misinformation. Algorithms. We\u2019re no longer a melting pot. Now we\u2019re lots of separate pots. There is no national curriculum to pass things on to the next generation. There are lots of ideas for how to fix things, 34ff. Few of these are likely to pass. By those afraid of losing their rights. That\u2019s where obligations come in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Part Two: The Bill of Obligations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation I: Be Informed, p39<\/em><\/p>\n<p>An old idea that goes back to Jefferson. What is an informed citizenry? [[ it should involve a basic understanding of the how the world works, as a vaccine against conspiracy theories and nonsense. ]] It means understanding how the government and economy work, challenges that exist, and options for dealing with those challenges. Ideally, also some history. To wisely cast their votes. To hold officials accountable. To be able to influence positions in their own work. Being uninformed opens you to falsehoods and conspiracy theories. How to be informed? Misinformation is everywhere. Reading the founding documents. De Tocqueville. See \u2018where to go for more\u2019 at the end of the book. On issues, which changes all the time. Read a major paper, like NYT, WSJ, or WaPo. Public radio and TV. Nightly news broadcasts on the networks. Be careful of radio, cable TV, and social media. When is a fact a fact? There are no alternative facts. Just facts and misstatements; opinions, predictions, recommendations. Examples about the budget, and climate change. And covid. Moynihan: everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. There is lots of evidence for these statements. And yet many facts are rejected by some. You have to assess who is claiming them. Experts can be wrong, but there\u2019s a distinction between misstatements based on faulty evidence, and lies. We can\u2019t always agree, but we can debate productively. All of this is especially important for those in positions of influence: teachers, those who give sermons, journalists, and the government.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation II: Get Involved, p51<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Citizens need to take an active part in their democracy. Many Americans don\u2019t. The most basic way is to vote. The many who don\u2019t have their excuses, mostly that their vote just wouldn\u2019t matter. Recall how voting works, in presidential elections, with the electoral college. Example of close elections decided by just a few hundred votes. So voting matters. Beyond voting there are other ways to participate. Encourage others to vote. Working for a candidate, helping in elections. Examples. Parents should guide their kids. The clergy have opportunities to influence many. Being passive or opting out just means others are making decisions for you.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation III: Stay Open to Compromise, p61<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not a four-letter word. It\u2019s not selling out. As Republicans seem to think. JFK made a case for compromise. It was used writing the Constitution. Examples. But now compromise is a problem. Compromise is like the first act of a play; work on the rest later. Especially in foreign policy. Example of Obama, Iran, and Trump. Compromise involves risk. Some insist on purity, and never get everything they want. At times too much compromise can be bad, as with Britain before WWII. Appeasement. Best to focus on fundamental principles, about which there can be no compromise. Consider compromise as a choice. The most famous compromise of the modern era was likely the one that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. These days almost any compromise will be criticized by the extremists. Be prepared to explain yourself.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation IV: Remain Civil, p73<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This goes with manners, respect, courtesy. Like the Golden Rule. Disagreements are inevitable. Deal with arguments on their merits, not on the motives of your opponents. Don\u2019t make things personal. Tone matters. Ask the other person to explain. Feed back your understanding of what they said. The purpose of conversations is not to demolish the other side. Better to understand their side. You might learn something. Which is not a sign of weakness. Keynes quote, 78b. Examples of Trump and Pelosi. Sen. Sinema in the rest room. How did we get here? Social media hasn\u2019t helped. And in DC these days, officials used to spend time there; now they return home every chance they have, their families never getting to know one another. An exception the rule was the friendship of Ginsburg and Scalia. It\u2019s like looking at media with which you disagree. Or with such people. But civility is not avoiding issues. Just as public forums like newspaper opinion pages must be open to a wide range of perspectives. There is nothing civil about denying someone a venue. [[ This goes to <em>The Cancelling of the American Mind<\/em>. ]] It\u2019s not about censorship.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation V: Reject Violence, p87<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The government holds a monopoly on use of violence, except for individual self-defense. When groups or individuals turn to violence, it\u2019s a crime. Use of crime for political purposes is called terrorism. People are tempted, but there are problems. Casualties, collateral damage. Can lead to civil war, or anarchy. It encourages others. It will subvert democracy. Better to work within the system. Or perhaps civil disobedience. Thoreau was willing to accept the penalties for what he did. Modern protests can be similar. Gandhi, King. They drew public attention to injustices. These tactics may not always work. And it\u2019s not what happened on Jan 6<sup>th<\/sup>. That was an insurrection. Free speech does not absolve responsibility.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation VI: Value Norms, p95<\/em><\/p>\n<p>More than just obeying the law. Norms are the unwritten traditions, rules, customs, etc that reduce friction in society. Following the letter of the law isn\u2019t enough. It\u2019s impossible to capture into law every behavior that makes society possible. Like looking out for neighbors and fellow citizens. Help the less fortunate. And so on. Among the political norms: accepting election results. And transitions of power. Accepting the winner as the rightful leader. As happened in 2000. Even Nixon in 1960. But not Trump in 2020. The independence of the media. Treating the media with respects, not as \u2018the enemy of the people.\u2019 Being able to see tax returns from candidates for high office. Not appointing close relatives to office. Telling the truth. Not leaking information. And others. Buying and selling stock. Sometimes these norms do have to get written into law.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation VII: Promote the Common Good, p107<\/em><\/p>\n<p>[[ This is something conservatives usually flout! Or simply don\u2019t understand. ]]<\/p>\n<p>We live in a society, and have a stake in the well-being of our fellow citizens. A teaching found in many religions. Examples. Yet such an obligation may conflict with individual rights. Recall John Stuart Mill. Individuals are free to do what they want, except for harming others. Consider sex practices on the one hand, smoking on the other. With the latter, when a smoker becomes ill, he becomes a burden to others. And smoking threatens the health of others. Safe driving. Speed limits, stop lights. Seat belts. Despite objections to the \u2018nanny state.\u2019 Then came Covid, and masks, and vaccines. As with smallpox a century before. Why the opposition to covid masks and vaccines? Misinformation, hostility to the government, rejection of facts. Rugged individualism. Selfishness. Culture wars.<\/p>\n<p>Other themes here: fairness. Equality of opportunity. Which isn\u2019t the same as equal outcomes, which are impossible. Public health and education. Policies to prevent discrimination. Limiting school preferences for alumni. Limits on inheritances. Smry.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation VIII: Respect Government Service, p121<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Americans have a tradition of suspicion toward government. Thus e.g. the Bill of Rights. But by now it\u2019s just dislike of government. Reagan\u2019s remarks on how the government in the problem. Now we have the \u2018deep state\u2019, a conspiracy theory. Yes people make mistakes. But there are mechanisms to reveal such mistakes. Resulting in better government. 125-6. [[ The complainers don\u2019t realize how much the government does that they take for granted. ]] The people who do that work deserve respect. Requiring participation, in the military or elsewhere, would be counterproductive. But it could be incentivized. Common experiences would break down barricades. In the past there\u2019s been the CCC, Peace Corps, VISTA, and others. Sixty other countries do military conscription. Examples.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation IX: Support the Teaching of Civics, p131<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is inspired by the Jewish Passover, and seder. It\u2019s about understanding what it means to be a Jew. History and heritage cannot be assumed. The same is true for Americans, which is part of the inspiration for this book. Immigrants usually understand this history better than natives. Reagan saw this problem. Especially since we are founded on ideals, not religion or race. Ideally this should be taught in school. But requirements in states vary widely. What to do? Time and resources are always limited. The schools are all different, and in many students choose their own curricula. And so many get no exposure to civics at all. Schools and professors resist the idea. It can only come from government standards. And what should be taught exactly? Structure of government (the three branches, etc) and how it operates. The basics of American society and economy. The obligations. How much of history? Recall the 1619 v the 1776 narratives, and CRT. Explore different perspectives, do simulations, etc. it would be nice if a consensus were to emerge.<\/p>\n<p><em>Obligation X: Put Country First, p145<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This tenth is like the tenth amendment\u2014a catchall. This means put America and democracy first over party and person. [[ Not, as I worried, put America first over all other nations. ]] It\u2019s the only way to keep improving. This requires character, or virtue. As Lincoln and Bush said. Consider Merrick Garland, the Republican response, and their behavior with Amy Coney Barrett. Politics above principles. And the overturning of Roe. From a politicized Court. About thinking long-term v short-term, 151.3. Basis of conservatism, 151.5. [[ Which maga now gleefully ignores ]] Profiles in courage. A modern example would be Liz Cheney. [[ Whom maga gleefully voted out of office. ]] A counter-example would be Trump trying to deal with Zelensky with a Biden investigation. Consider also the \u2018loyal opposition.\u2019 Both words are key. Politicians are unlikely to respond to such forces without external pressure.<\/p>\n<p><em>Conclusion, p155<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Central argument, 155.7: &#8220;American democracy will endure only if obligations join rights at the core of a widely shared understanding of citizenship.&#8221; Not rugged individualism. Still, we must deal with human nature. It may depend on voters to persuade the politicians. Most of these obligations do not translate to requirements that could be legislated. Some might: national service, civics education. Against violence. Sometimes politicians have been held accountable. The obligations should take priority over immediate policy concerns, like taxes or abortion or guns. Examples. Spotify in 2022. A final obligation: think institutionally. Leave one in better shape than how your found it. Same for government, the country. We can\u2019t count on virtue winning out, as the aftermath of Jan 6<sup>th<\/sup> has demonstrated.<\/p>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p>An appendix on &#8220;Where to go for more&#8221; p167 includes these:<\/p>\n<p>The essential documents. De Tocqueville. History. Hofstadter, Zinn, Lepore. Speeches by the presidents. Memoirs. Court opinions. Ezra Klein. Civics online.<\/p>\n<p>Newspapers: NYT, WP, WSJ. LAT, Boston Globe, others. The Hill, USA Today. Heather Cox Richardson. Politico, Axios. Thomas Edsall. The Economist, The New Yorker, The Atlantic. PBS, NPR, Morning Joe. Podcasts.<\/p>\n<p>Political fiction: Drury, Warre, Lee, Orwell, Vidal, Lewis. West Wing. Hamilton. Websites. Museums, board meetings. Serving on a jury.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve read or do read many of these, but not all; there&#8217;s only so much time in the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Subtitled \u201cThe Ten Habits of Good Citizens\u201d (Penguin Press, January 2023, xix + 217pp, including 42pp of acknowledgements, \u201cWhere To Go For More,\u201d notes, and index) Not familiar with this author, who is president of the nonpartisan Council on Foreign &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2026\/11\/08\/richard-haass-the-bill-of-obligations\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,54,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservative-resistance","category-politics","category-social-progress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29239"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29242,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29239\/revisions\/29242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}