Politics & Government
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The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens
A New York Times Bestseller
A provocative guide to how we must reenvision citizenship if American democracy is to survive
The United States faces dangerous threats from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, terrorists, climate change, and future pandemics. The greatest peril to the country, however, comes not from abroad but from within, from none other than ourselves. The question facing us is whether we are prepared to do what is necessary to save our democracy.
The Bill of Obligations is a bold call for change. In these pages, New York Times bestselling author Richard Haass argues that the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. The Bill of Rights is at the center of our Constitution, yet our most intractable conflicts often emerge from contrasting views as to what our rights ought to be. As former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer pointed out, "Many of our cases, the most difficult ones, are not about right versus wrong. They are about right versus right." The lesson is clear: rights alone cannot provide the basis for a functioning, much less flourishing, democracy.
But there is a cure: to place obligations on the same footing as rights. The ten obligations that Haass introduces here are essential for healing our divisions and safeguarding the country's future. These obligations reenvision what it means to be an American citizen. They are not a burden but rather commitments that we make to fellow citizens and to the government to uphold democracy and counter the growing apathy, anger, selfishness, division, disinformation, and violence that threaten us all. Through an expert blend of civics, history, and political analysis, this book illuminates how Americans can rediscover and recover the attitudes and behaviors that have contributed so much to this country's success over the centuries.
As Richard Haass argues, "We get the government and the country we deserve. Getting the one we need, however, is up to us." The Bill of Obligations gives citizens across the political spectrum a plan of action to achieve it.
A provocative guide to how we must reenvision citizenship if American democracy is to survive
The United States faces dangerous threats from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, terrorists, climate change, and future pandemics. The greatest peril to the country, however, comes not from abroad but from within, from none other than ourselves. The question facing us is whether we are prepared to do what is necessary to save our democracy.
The Bill of Obligations is a bold call for change. In these pages, New York Times bestselling author Richard Haass argues that the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. The Bill of Rights is at the center of our Constitution, yet our most intractable conflicts often emerge from contrasting views as to what our rights ought to be. As former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer pointed out, "Many of our cases, the most difficult ones, are not about right versus wrong. They are about right versus right." The lesson is clear: rights alone cannot provide the basis for a functioning, much less flourishing, democracy.
But there is a cure: to place obligations on the same footing as rights. The ten obligations that Haass introduces here are essential for healing our divisions and safeguarding the country's future. These obligations reenvision what it means to be an American citizen. They are not a burden but rather commitments that we make to fellow citizens and to the government to uphold democracy and counter the growing apathy, anger, selfishness, division, disinformation, and violence that threaten us all. Through an expert blend of civics, history, and political analysis, this book illuminates how Americans can rediscover and recover the attitudes and behaviors that have contributed so much to this country's success over the centuries.
As Richard Haass argues, "We get the government and the country we deserve. Getting the one we need, however, is up to us." The Bill of Obligations gives citizens across the political spectrum a plan of action to achieve it.
Editorial Reviews
"Richard Haass has turned his keen mind and large heart to the most important of questions: The meaning of citizenship. If American democracy is to endure, it will require all of us to embrace what Haass calls our common obligations. This is a vital work for a decisive time." -Jon Meacham, author of And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
"Democracy is more than procedures and laws. It is an ethical ideal that requires much of us if it is to succeed. Richard Haass powerfully describes what he calls the Bill of Obligations, commitments and values needed for these challenging times. We may not see eye-to-eye on all the issues, but here I agree: we need a clear and thoughtful statement of our obligations to each other and to the country if this grand and fragile experiment in democracy is to survive. The Bill of Obligations does just that!"-Eddie Glaude, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Princeton University
"Americans argue a lot about their rights, but, as Richard Haass reminds us, democracy only works if we also recognize our responsibilities. His newest book reminds us of what those are, providing an indispensable guide to good citizenship in an era of division and rancor." -Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
"In this essential book, Richard Haass calls upon us all to commit anew to the obligations of American citizenship upon which our increasingly faltering American democracy was founded. He rightly observes that the future of this country, if not the world, depends on our answering this clarion call to put patriotic, civic obligation front and center in the national political conversation. This book's message is desperately needed if we are to bring an end to the poisonous politics eating away at the fabric of our society and begin to mend our tattered nation." -J. Michael Luttig, former United States Court of Appeals judge
"The reasoned arguments [Richard Haass] presents make his eloquent book well worth the read." -Booklist
"Democracy is more than procedures and laws. It is an ethical ideal that requires much of us if it is to succeed. Richard Haass powerfully describes what he calls the Bill of Obligations, commitments and values needed for these challenging times. We may not see eye-to-eye on all the issues, but here I agree: we need a clear and thoughtful statement of our obligations to each other and to the country if this grand and fragile experiment in democracy is to survive. The Bill of Obligations does just that!"-Eddie Glaude, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Princeton University
"Americans argue a lot about their rights, but, as Richard Haass reminds us, democracy only works if we also recognize our responsibilities. His newest book reminds us of what those are, providing an indispensable guide to good citizenship in an era of division and rancor." -Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
"In this essential book, Richard Haass calls upon us all to commit anew to the obligations of American citizenship upon which our increasingly faltering American democracy was founded. He rightly observes that the future of this country, if not the world, depends on our answering this clarion call to put patriotic, civic obligation front and center in the national political conversation. This book's message is desperately needed if we are to bring an end to the poisonous politics eating away at the fabric of our society and begin to mend our tattered nation." -J. Michael Luttig, former United States Court of Appeals judge
"The reasoned arguments [Richard Haass] presents make his eloquent book well worth the read." -Booklist
Readers Top Reviews
John Quincy AdamsTra
I agree with Travellini. I have the greatest respect for Mr. Haas. I went to purchase a hard copy as a gift for my wife's middle school--and I probably still will--but come on--$25? I switched to Kindle for reasons of environment, diversity of reads, speed, and price, giving up the pretentious bookshelf. I would think a book of this importance could be more affordable.
ShelleyRyan Boissonn
I want to buy this book for each of my grandchildren, but I'm not a wealthy republican and can't afford to spend what would be well over $125. I'm sure shipping and tax will run that total up even more. Very disappointed on the price. I wish Richard felt his book needed to be read by everyone.
Short Excerpt Teaser
PREFACE
I have spent my career studying, practicing, writing about, and speaking on American foreign policy, and a question I frequently hear is "Richard, what keeps you up at night?" Often, evenbefore I get to answer, the person posing the question suggests potential answers. Is it China? Russia? North Korea? Iran? Terrorism? Climate change? Cyberattacks? Another pandemic?
In recent years I started responding in a way that surprised me and many in the room. The most urgent and significant threat to American security and stability stems not from abroad but from within, from political divisions that for only the second time in U.S. history have raised questions about the future of American democracy and even the United States itself. These divisions also make it near impossible for the United States to address many of its economic, social, and political problems or to realize its potential. Many Americans (for a range of reasons) share my concern; according to a recent poll, a plurality (21 percent) believe that "threats to democracy" is the most important issue facing the country, surpassing cost of living, the economy, immigration,and climate change.
The deterioration of our democracy also has adverse consequences for our country's ability to contend with Russian aggression, a much more capable and assertive China, and a host of other regional and global challenges. Deep political divisions make it difficult-or even impossible-to design and implement a steady foreign policy at a time when what happens in the world deeply affects what happens at home. Similarly, a country at war with itself cannot set an example that people elsewhere will want to emulate. If democracy fails here, democracy will be endangered everywhere. The storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, along with other attempts to overturn a free and fair election, made clear America's internal divisions had reached a qualitatively different and dangerous level. There is overwhelming evidence that members of Congress as well as the then president of the United States and his close associates were not only aware of what was being planned but were intimately involved. And even though Inauguration Day took place two weeks later, even though American democracy proved resilient, the outcome might have been different had it not been for the courage and character of a few state officials, Capitol police, and the serving vice president. It was a close‑run thing-much too close for comfort.
What is more, the threat to American democracy is not limited to those who stormed the Capitol or the elected officials who cheered them on. An equally serious threat stems from the slow but steady erosion of popular support for democracy's underpinnings.
Before going on, I should perhaps say a few things about my‑self and what motivated me to write this book. I am not particularly partisan. I have worked for one Democratic senator, one Democratic president, and three Republican presidents. I began my political odyssey as a liberal Democrat, someone opposed to the war in Vietnam. My ideas began to change when I did my graduate work at Oxford in the 1970s, during which time I studied more history, read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's powerful denunciations of the Soviet system, and watched up close the illiberalism of the British Labour Party and the rise of a principled Margaret Thatcher. For most of my adult life I was a registered Republican, although in the summer of 2020 I reluctantly concluded I was no longer comfortable in that party and changed to no party affiliation. But even when I was a Republican I would at times vote for Democrats. Party was never as important to me as individual candidates and issues. As I write this, I serve as the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an institution dedicated to being a nonpartisan resource for Americans across the political spectrum on questions of U.S. foreign policy and the country's relationship with the world.
In short, what led to this book is not my political preferences.
I am motivated by what keeps me up at night: our democracy is imperiled, and its demise would be an incalculable loss to this country's citizens and to the world. My belief is that it can be
saved only if Americans across the political spectrum come to accept that citizenship involves more than their asserting-or the government's protecting-what they understand to be their
rights.
I have come around to the view that our very concept of citizenship needs to be revised, or better yet expanded, if American democracy is to survive. As two leading political scientists wrote in a classic study, "The development of a stable and effective democratic government depends upon more than the s...
I have spent my career studying, practicing, writing about, and speaking on American foreign policy, and a question I frequently hear is "Richard, what keeps you up at night?" Often, evenbefore I get to answer, the person posing the question suggests potential answers. Is it China? Russia? North Korea? Iran? Terrorism? Climate change? Cyberattacks? Another pandemic?
In recent years I started responding in a way that surprised me and many in the room. The most urgent and significant threat to American security and stability stems not from abroad but from within, from political divisions that for only the second time in U.S. history have raised questions about the future of American democracy and even the United States itself. These divisions also make it near impossible for the United States to address many of its economic, social, and political problems or to realize its potential. Many Americans (for a range of reasons) share my concern; according to a recent poll, a plurality (21 percent) believe that "threats to democracy" is the most important issue facing the country, surpassing cost of living, the economy, immigration,and climate change.
The deterioration of our democracy also has adverse consequences for our country's ability to contend with Russian aggression, a much more capable and assertive China, and a host of other regional and global challenges. Deep political divisions make it difficult-or even impossible-to design and implement a steady foreign policy at a time when what happens in the world deeply affects what happens at home. Similarly, a country at war with itself cannot set an example that people elsewhere will want to emulate. If democracy fails here, democracy will be endangered everywhere. The storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, along with other attempts to overturn a free and fair election, made clear America's internal divisions had reached a qualitatively different and dangerous level. There is overwhelming evidence that members of Congress as well as the then president of the United States and his close associates were not only aware of what was being planned but were intimately involved. And even though Inauguration Day took place two weeks later, even though American democracy proved resilient, the outcome might have been different had it not been for the courage and character of a few state officials, Capitol police, and the serving vice president. It was a close‑run thing-much too close for comfort.
What is more, the threat to American democracy is not limited to those who stormed the Capitol or the elected officials who cheered them on. An equally serious threat stems from the slow but steady erosion of popular support for democracy's underpinnings.
Before going on, I should perhaps say a few things about my‑self and what motivated me to write this book. I am not particularly partisan. I have worked for one Democratic senator, one Democratic president, and three Republican presidents. I began my political odyssey as a liberal Democrat, someone opposed to the war in Vietnam. My ideas began to change when I did my graduate work at Oxford in the 1970s, during which time I studied more history, read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's powerful denunciations of the Soviet system, and watched up close the illiberalism of the British Labour Party and the rise of a principled Margaret Thatcher. For most of my adult life I was a registered Republican, although in the summer of 2020 I reluctantly concluded I was no longer comfortable in that party and changed to no party affiliation. But even when I was a Republican I would at times vote for Democrats. Party was never as important to me as individual candidates and issues. As I write this, I serve as the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an institution dedicated to being a nonpartisan resource for Americans across the political spectrum on questions of U.S. foreign policy and the country's relationship with the world.
In short, what led to this book is not my political preferences.
I am motivated by what keeps me up at night: our democracy is imperiled, and its demise would be an incalculable loss to this country's citizens and to the world. My belief is that it can be
saved only if Americans across the political spectrum come to accept that citizenship involves more than their asserting-or the government's protecting-what they understand to be their
rights.
I have come around to the view that our very concept of citizenship needs to be revised, or better yet expanded, if American democracy is to survive. As two leading political scientists wrote in a classic study, "The development of a stable and effective democratic government depends upon more than the s...
