NOT MY JOB

I encountered a man that was attending a training of ours in Russell, KS last evening.  After the training was over he came up to us and began chatting and sharing stories, and one story in particular really inspired me.  He talked about his experience last year when he attended the March on D.C.  He was explaining what an amazing experience it was for him and how blessed he felt to be a part of the movement – something bigger than himself.  He then went on to mention how shocked he was that when it was over and most everyone had cleared out, the streets were nearly spotless. He was blown away at how respectful everyone in attendance was towards their capitol.  However, there were a few signs on the ground and one in particular that had blown through a fence into the capitol building area that was off limits to the public.  He went up to the guard that was standing outside the fence and asked, “May I go pick up that sign so I can throw it away?”  The guard answered, “No.”  “Well, do you think maybe you could go grab it for me?  I would hate to think that my group was responsible for littering on the capitol,” the man said.  “Not my job” replied the guard.  The man was stunned and then said, “Well this is my capitol and I want to treat it with respect, so please sir, may I just climb through real quick and retrieve the sign?”  Finally the guard allowed him to do so.  This little exchange, though not a huge ordeal, really says a great deal about this man and people in attendance at the march.  It also says a great about the attitude that so many people seem to be taking nowadays.

When he told me this story, I was reminded of a poster that I once saw.  The poster is meant to demonstrate an instance in which a road-worker, instead of taking the initiative to move some road kill out of the middle of the road in order to paint, just painted right over it because it “wasn’t his job.”  However humorous the poster may be, it sends a scary message.  What would this country be like if everyone took the “not my job” approach that the capitol guard and the road-worker so willingly did?  There are many people who do; however, I am extremely thankful that there are citizens out there like the man at our training in Russell who understand that there are some things that you do because it is your duty as a citizen – it’s your job.

If you are a citizen of this great nation and enjoy the rights and freedoms granted to you in the United States Constitution, then it is your job.  It’s your job to hold your representatives accountable.  It’s your job to vote and to encourage others to vote as well.  It’s your job to educate those who may not be informed on important issues.  It’s your job to help candidates whom you believe in get elected.  And it’s your job to step up when there is a need for a liberty minded individual to emerge and run for office.

It is so refreshing and so motivating to see more and more citizens that understand how important it is to take the initiative when they see a problem in this country and make it their job to fix it.  The more active citizens that emerge, like the man I came across in Russell, the closer we will be to getting this country back on the track that our founding fathers intended it to go.