Do We Serve the Government, or Does the Government Serve Us??

Americans often talk about the government as something created to serve the people. At the same time, citizenship can also involve responsibilities to the larger community and to the institutions we share. At this meeting, we’ll explore how we understand that relationship—and what we expect from both the government and citizens.

We’ll ask questions such as:

• When have you experienced government as something that serves you or your community?

• What responsibilities, if any, do you think citizens have to government or to one another?

• How do you decide when cooperating with government is part of good citizenship—and when questioning or resisting it may be?

• What do you think a healthy relationship between citizens and government looks like?

This will be an opportunity to explore different ideas about citizenship, public service, individual responsibility, and the role of government in our lives.