Imagine a World
without Duty
O
performing his duty.
Duty is a spiritual force that binds us to the worth of our word.
It resembles honor, but I argue that honor is the measure of how
cowards. We perform in duty to reveal our honor. When voting
citizens say, they want an honorable election, what they really
want is an honest one. When they say, they want an honorable
politician, what they really mean is “one who is duty bound.”
from responsibility is dishonorable. As with the unnamed cop
who heroically jumped in when he was not being paid, we want
duty-bound professionals to save us in our time of need.
Which begs the question: Is duty learned or is it a virtue you
either have or not have? I cannot say with certainty, but I believe
duty is determined through emulation. Little boys and girls see
| May 2019 | Real Hero Report
their father or mother come home from work, tired, yet full of
and every girl wants to be a nurse. They naturally have a sense
of service. It is a sad fact that many children grow into adults
who try to get higher paying jobs instead, because they grow up
around people telling them “service doesn’t pay” because, well, it
doesn’t. Not in any tangible form as money anyways.
civil servants to protecting citizens. They are, in many ways, the
knights of the new world. They are trained and hired to protect
a group of people in a particular area. We look favorably upon
of us now, but that is only a picture on the wall. The truth is
strive for and renew every day. If people were to be honest with
themselves, they would see that they desire the sense of duty that
comes with the profession many of us have chosen. It is not a
shame to struggle with duty, but to abandon it is a tragedy. To all
the civil servants who work thankless jobs, your works are stored
in heaven, and the writers of tomorrow will romanticize your
everyday duties as something to emulate.
Imagine a world without duty. In that world, there are no
off-duty cops to stop the bad guys. Evil is allowed to roam free
because to bother with it is a waste of precious time. Bystanders
on their phones rather than step in. Crimes go unsolved because
witnesses can’t be bothered to speak up. Children go hungry
because food is easier thrown away than to give to a shelter.
A world without duty would be a world where every man,
woman, and child is only out for themselves. Every truth is
questioned, and every lie is valued. Self-gain is life’s ultimate
true nature rejected. To be better, in a world without duty, is an
increase in wealth instead of growth in virtue. It is a world that
lies just beyond the horizon of giving in to our worst selves.
However, my hope stands that as long as those who are duty
bound work long days and tireless nights, this will never be
our world, because a world without duty would be a world
without you.