[Avodah] Responsibilities to our host country

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

Someone asked:
> I wonder where within the definition of hakarat hatov
> is the chiyuv to vote (which is a voluntary act) found?

If one receives a gift, and he is truly grateful for it, but there is no specific person or group to whom he can vocalize his "thank you", then how can he express that gratitude?

It has always seemed to me that in such cases - and perhaps even when there *is* a person to thank - one of the best things he can do is to USE that gift.

(I developed this idea while thinking about why suicide is wrong: it is a rejection of G-d's gift of life. It is intriguing to me to have applied a similar logic to the importance of voting, as an expression of gratitude to the government which allows us to vote.)

Akiva Miller
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