You as new citizens of the United States must find your own path to civic virtue. The obligations of citizenship, the expression of civic virtue, require participation. At its simplest level this means making the best possible effort to understand the issues of our public dialogue. And then expressing that understanding through the informed use of your vote. The joy of citizenship, however, extends beyond the ability to debate and vote upon issues that effect our lives.
Civic virtue includes a willingness to participate in the structures of self-government.
Someone once calculated that Vermont has almost 11,000 local officials. This is a remarkable number of officials in a state with a population of just over 560,000. It works out to about one local official for every 53 Vermonters. Many of these officials receive little or no compensation. They volunteer their time to make sure that local democracy works.