Accountable citizens are appropriately informed. Government acts for all of us at local, state and federal level each day.Through a variety of taxes and fees, each of us helps pay for what government does. When we register our vehicles or pay for a driver's license or pay taxes on our food or pay our income taxes, we are contributing money to support government activities. When government at any level uses our money to act, it is reasonable to assume the government acts with our consent. Government is essentially a service we have hired to take care of certain things on our behalf. Accepting our responsibility for government action means that we accept accountability for what government does and does not do. Accepting accountability for actions we do not understand is at least unreasonable and probably negligent. Therefore, we should make an effort to be appropriately informed in order to exercise our citizenship in a reasonable, responsible way.
An excerpt from Accountability Citizenship, p. 39, by Stephen P Tryon, Xlibris, 2013.
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