Do citizens bear any responsibility for the actions of their elected government?

[VBM]

?

[MarkD]

Not 100% of the time, but a large majority of the time, yes.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

They bear some.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

No, this is al-quada logic. (For starters, why civilians collectively - are we to assume in a democratic society every person voted for the incumbents?)

[VBM]

No, this is al-quada logic. (For starters, why civilians collectively - are we to assume in a democratic society every person voted for the incumbents?)

Even if you personally didn’t vote for them, it’s still the government that represents you. If Trump is re-elected, and actually becomes literally Hitler, I would still bear responsibility for the actions of my government and it would be my duty as a U.S. citizen to work towards deposing Trump from power for the sake of the world.

[Vosem]

No (R ). Maybe people who voted for a particular government kind of do in some vague sense (I think rhetoric saying this is fine), but governments often encounter issues that the voters did not foresee and react in unforeseeable ways. People cannot be blamed for the actions of their governments, and certainly they shouldn't be held accountable for those actions in a court of law or anything.

True even though it is often the case that many or most citizens approve of their government's actions; approving is not the same as doing.

[VBM]

No (R ). Maybe people who voted for a particular government kind of do in some vague sense (I think rhetoric saying this is fine), but governments often encounter issues that the voters did not foresee and react in unforeseeable ways. People cannot be blamed for the actions of their governments, and certainly they shouldn't be held accountable for those actions in a court of law or anything.

True even though it is often the case that many or most citizens approve of their government's actions; approving is not the same as doing.

Would you say that the people of Germany didn't have any moral imperative to remove the Nazis from power in their government?

[progressive85]

Everyone has just one vote.  Individual citizens cannot be blamed for how the masses vote if they voted the opposite way, or for other candidates.  As a society, you do feel the collective responsibility if the government is getting out of hand, and it is our American right to rein in that kind of government through our democracy, through our constitutional rights to speech and protest, etc.

[Ferguson97]

Only if they voted for the winner.

[Flats the Flounder]

No (R ). Maybe people who voted for a particular government kind of do in some vague sense (I think rhetoric saying this is fine), but governments often encounter issues that the voters did not foresee and react in unforeseeable ways. People cannot be blamed for the actions of their governments, and certainly they shouldn't be held accountable for those actions in a court of law or anything.

True even though it is often the case that many or most citizens approve of their government's actions; approving is not the same as doing.

Would you say that the people of Germany didn't have any moral imperative to remove the Nazis from power in their government?

We didn't prosecute the German people at Nuremberg, did we?

To claim that citizens are responsible for the actions of their government is to open the door to justifications of all kinds of different atrocities.

Either way, I think we've generally accepted as a society that you're not a bad person for simply trying to get by in a difficult situation w/o resorting to some kind of vigilantism. Put your own mask on in an airplane before doing so for others, etc. If you want to be a hero, that's great, but others shouldn't be faulted for not choosing the same path.

[VBM]

No (R ). Maybe people who voted for a particular government kind of do in some vague sense (I think rhetoric saying this is fine), but governments often encounter issues that the voters did not foresee and react in unforeseeable ways. People cannot be blamed for the actions of their governments, and certainly they shouldn't be held accountable for those actions in a court of law or anything.

True even though it is often the case that many or most citizens approve of their government's actions; approving is not the same as doing.

Would you say that the people of Germany didn't have any moral imperative to remove the Nazis from power in their government?

We didn't prosecute the German people at Nuremberg, did we?

To claim that citizens are responsible for the actions of their government is to open the door to justifications of all kinds of different atrocities.

Either way, I think we've generally accepted as a society that you're not a bad person for simply trying to get by in a difficult situation w/o resorting to some kind of vigilantism. Put your own mask on in an airplane before doing so for others, etc. If you want to be a hero, that's great, but others shouldn't be faulted for not choosing the same path.

You can think it was a moral failing of the German people to let the Nazis rule them for so long without believing that they should be put on trial for it

[VBM]

Only if they voted for the winner.

I was expecting that the Rs would lean more towards yes than the Ds in this poll, but surprising that turned out to be way off. I find it funny how blue avatars are preemptively declaring that they bear no responsibility for whatever happens during Trump’s 2nd term

[Flats the Flounder]

No (R ). Maybe people who voted for a particular government kind of do in some vague sense (I think rhetoric saying this is fine), but governments often encounter issues that the voters did not foresee and react in unforeseeable ways. People cannot be blamed for the actions of their governments, and certainly they shouldn't be held accountable for those actions in a court of law or anything.

True even though it is often the case that many or most citizens approve of their government's actions; approving is not the same as doing.

Would you say that the people of Germany didn't have any moral imperative to remove the Nazis from power in their government?

We didn't prosecute the German people at Nuremberg, did we?

To claim that citizens are responsible for the actions of their government is to open the door to justifications of all kinds of different atrocities.

Either way, I think we've generally accepted as a society that you're not a bad person for simply trying to get by in a difficult situation w/o resorting to some kind of vigilantism. Put your own mask on in an airplane before doing so for others, etc. If you want to be a hero, that's great, but others shouldn't be faulted for not choosing the same path.

You can think it was a moral failing of the German people to let the Nazis rule them for so long without believing that they should be put on trial for it

If you're in a mass shooting, is it a moral failure to run away instead of tackle the shooter?

Most people think they'd be the heroes in these situations, but I think most of them are all talk. Most people are not heroic or villainous, but people simply trying to make the best of whatever their current situation is.

I don't think it would be fair to blame someone who runs away in a mass shooting, nor do I think it would be fair to blame the average German citizen for not actively opposing a government they knew would likely kill them if they tried. The few brave people who did try to be heroic obviously deserve all the praise in the world for doing so.

This is not to mention that attributing the actions of a government/small group of people to an entire citizenry has been the line of thinking that has animated multiple genocides throughout history.

[Vosem]

No (R ). Maybe people who voted for a particular government kind of do in some vague sense (I think rhetoric saying this is fine), but governments often encounter issues that the voters did not foresee and react in unforeseeable ways. People cannot be blamed for the actions of their governments, and certainly they shouldn't be held accountable for those actions in a court of law or anything.

True even though it is often the case that many or most citizens approve of their government's actions; approving is not the same as doing.

Would you say that the people of Germany didn't have any moral imperative to remove the Nazis from power in their government?

The people of Germany, considered as a collective? No, of course not, much as the people of the Soviet Union as a collective were not under a moral imperative to remove the Communists from power. Rather the leadership of Germany was under a moral imperative to stop making evil decisions which hurt others, including those they were (in their own twisted and misguided way) attempting to help.