I came across a line that resonated with me in a poem by Anne Angel: Commitment. (Contained in the book pictured to the right.)
“It’s knowing your duty and doing your job and dulling your pain and stumbling on.
It’s making a mess and maybe a difference, it’s trying to be more or to stir up some interest.”
The poem itself is about teaching and the challenges it brings. It’s also about why teachers come back to the classroom year after year and how the world gets away with paying them such a pittance.
It made me think of a quote by Robert E. Lee that I had to memorize once upon a time at the US Air Force Academy:
“Duty then is the sublimest word in the English language. You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more; you should never wish to do less.“
Put aside all that you think you know about Lee and ponder the quote and how it might tie to Angel’s thoughts. Both point to duty being an obligation to others. When we view the world from that perspective, our thoughts and actions change. If you see your only duty as to yourself, bad behavior follows.
A few years back, I was called for jury duty (oohhh…there’s that word again). I had no desire to serve on the jury. It was going to be a few days of sitting in uncomfortable chairs wondering when I’d get a chance to pee. As the morning of jury selection wore on, I became embarrassed and disgusted at some of my fellow perspective jurors and their attempts to be excused from their duty. The case was about a young woman who may have been raped.
“I have a niece. I couldn’t be impartial.”
“My favorite baseball team is in the playoffs. I’d be too distracted to be a good juror.”
“I have vacation planned the week after next. I can’t cancel it.” After the judge assured the potential juror that the trial would only last two days and confirming that the vacation was more than 10 days away, the potential juror said they still didn’t “want to chance it.”
It went on for two agonizing hours. One lame excuse after another. I wanted to scream at them.
“A person who neglects their duty as a citizen is not entitled to their rights as a citizen.”
This quote is attributed to Tiorio by Forbes. Tiorio may have been better known as William J.H. Boetcker.
Look outward for your duty. Also, think about how your life would change if others failed to perform their duties toward you.
No, I didn’t get selected for the jury.