Duty

du·ty (dū'tē, dyū'-)
n., pl. -ties.

1. An act or a course of action that is required of one by position, social custom, law, or religion: Do your duty to your country.
2.  
   1. Moral obligation: acting out of duty.
   2. The compulsion felt to meet such obligation.
3. A service, function, or task assigned to one, especially in the armed forces: hazardous duty.
4. Function or work; service: jury duty. See synonyms at function.
5. A tax charged by a government, especially on imports.
6.  
   1. The work performed by a machine under specified conditions.
   2. A measure of efficiency expressed as the amount of work done per unit of energy used.
7. The total volume of water required to irrigate a given area in order to cultivate a specific crop until harvest.

From American Heritage Dictionary

Such a simple word. Now that you have seen the formal definition take a moment to think about what it means to you.

What is your duty to your country?  To vote? To serve in the armed forces? To help your candidate campaign? To run for office? To write letters to the editor? Serve on a jury? Volunteered with an organization that helped to serve at least a portion of the country? Follow the laws of the land?

What is your duty to religion (God, Goddess, or supreme entity of your beliefs)? Do you have to spread a message? Do the right thing? Follow the traditions?  Live your life in a certain way?

What is your duty to family? Spend holidays together? Buy gifts? Provide for them? Care for them? Be there for them?  Give of yourself to them?

What is your duty to self? Care for yourself physically (eat right; exercise; see a doctor when you need to; take prescribed medications)?   Care for yourself mentally (taking time for yourself; getting the sleep you need; taking a vacation day or two)? Care for yourself spiritually (meditate and/or pray, follow your religion; study more about your beliefs) Care for yourself intellectually (Do a puzzle; Read a book; take a class)

The answers to these questions are different for all of us. Reading them has caused you to have to think about your a lot of things. Now think to yourself have you done your duty? I’m sure most of you are like me and can say that you have done your duty in the past, but in some areas you have also failed to do your duty. Think then act, what can you do fulfill your many obligations of duty? If you have a conflict of duty how do you deicide what level is more important?

Duty is one of the values we set for ourselves. It is also a value others observe and use to assess us based upon their own values. Now are you part of the decline of societies values? Are you proud of your values? Do you respect people of similar values?