The document discusses personal and civic responsibilities of citizens. Personal responsibilities include taking care of oneself and family, while civic responsibilities involve supporting one's community and government through actions like voting, running for office, serving on juries, and paying taxes. Civic responsibilities can sometimes conflict with personal responsibilities due to demands on time and energy. The document also provides examples of responsibilities being personal, civic, or both, such as obeying laws, volunteering, and striving for compromise.

1. Roles of the Citizen
Personal and Civic
Responsibilities

2. Personal Responsibilities
• Every person has responsibilities having to
do with his or her private life. People have
to help take care of themselves and their
families. They fulfill these responsibilities
in many ways.

3. Civic Responsibilities
• Americans also have civic responsibilities.
These are the things people must do in
order to help support their community and
their government. Our system of
government depends on the active
involvement and participation of people in
a number of tasks. For example, because
ours is a government of, for, and by the
people, citizens must run for office, and
others must participate in elections.

4. Civic Responsibilities
• Americans also have civic responsibilities.
These are the things people must do in
order to help support their community and
their government. Our system of
government depends on the active
involvement and participation of people in
a number of tasks. For example, because
ours is a government of, for, and by the
people, citizens must run for office, and
others must participate in elections.

5. Conflicting Responsibilities
• A person’s civic responsibilities can
sometimes create conflicts with his or her
personal responsibilities. The demands of
time and energy for civic life may make it
harder to fulfill financial or family duties.

6. Your Right to Disagree and Your Responsibility
to Accept the Consequences
• In some cases, the decisions of a
government may go against a person’s
morals or ethics. In the past, people have
used a practice called civil disobedience to
protest government rules that go against
their personal morality. With civil
disobedience, a person who objects to a
law or policy breaks that law or policy
peacefully—and accepts the legal
punishment for that action. So, while
expressing opposition to the policy, the
person accepts the authority of the law.

7. Identifying Personal and Civic
Responsibilities
For each of the following try to guess if it is a
personal responsibility a civic responsibility, or both.
After each picture, an answer and explanation will
appear.

8. Case #1 – Obeying and Respecting The Law

9. This is a Civic Responsibility BUT
Testifying in open court is
definitely a civic responsibility
but you also have a personal
responsibility to obey and
respect the law as well as to “do
the right thing” which we call
ethical behavior. Telling the truth
in court is a personal
responsibility (as well as a civic
one).

10. Case #2 – Living by a Code of Ethics –
―Doing the Right Thing!‖

11. This is a Personal Responsibility
“Doing the Right Thing” by acting in an ethical
manner is a personal responsibility. Whether a
law exists or not, you must live by a code of
ethical standards .

12. Case #3 – Learning About Civics and
Government in and out of the Classroom…

13. This is a Civic Responsibility
While it is important
on a personal basis
to understand the
world around you
and how it works, it
is also very much a
CIVIC
RESPONSIBILITY to
learn as much as
you can about our
system of
government!

14. Case #4 – Making yourself available to
serve on a jury when called …

15. This is a Civic Responsibility
Serving on a jury
when summoned by
the courts is a civic
responsibility. This
is a sacrifice we
must make in order
to have a fair and
impartial judicial
system. Just think:
What if you were the
one on trial ……?

16. Case #5 – Registering to Vote and
Participating in the Election Process

17. This is a Civic Responsibility
If you want to live in
a democracy you
must be willing to
participate. Since
we really live in a
democratic
republic, the way
citizens participate
in the process and
make their voices
heard is trough
elections!

18. Case #7 – Making Your Voice Heard
Through Protest and Civil Disobedience.

19. This is a Both a Civic and Personal
Responsibility
You have an
obligation as a
citizen and to
yourself to let your
voice be heard if
you disagree with a
governmental
action.
But
remember, participa
ting in political
disobedience also
means you are
willing to accept the
consequences of
your actions.

20. Case #8 – Paying Your Taxes!

21. This is a Civic Responsibility
In order to provide
services to its
citizens, a
government must
have a way of
collecting revenue.
This is generally
done through taxes.
At the federal
level, this means
paying income
taxes to Uncle Sam!

22. Case #9 – Caring For Family Members

23. This is a Personal Responsibility
Caring for Family
Members is the
responsibility of
every family
member … We owe
our
parents, grandparen
ts, and siblings our
love, respect, and
time at the very
least ……. But this
is what we do for
FAMILY!

24. Case #10 – Cooperation and Teamwork

25. This is both a Personal and Civic Responsibility
As members of a
community, we have
both a personal and
civic duty to work in
cooperation with
those around us.
Conflict and
violence rarely bring
about a peaceful
resolution to a
problem.

26. Case #11 – Volunteering in the Community

27. This is both a Personal and Civic Responsibility
Being an active
member of the
community is both a
personal and civic
responsibility. It’s
what we do in order
to live and work in
society!

28. Case #12 – Caring for Personal Health and Safety

29. This is both a Personal and Civic Responsibility
Taking care of
yourself is
something you do
for you and those
who love you. This
is a personal
responsibility but
many would argue
that in today’s era of
rising health care
costs it is also a
civic responsibility
to care for your
health and safety!

30. Case #13 – Striving for Compromise During Conflict

31. This is both a Personal and Civic Responsibility
Just as cooperation
is important, it is
understandable that
conflict can and will
arise but it is our
personal and civic
responsibility to
strive to resolve
conflict through
compromise. This
is what the
American system of
government was
founded on!

32. Let’s Review: