In this article we learned that in order for an organization or a civilization to operate effectively there has to be agreed upon standards. Without agreed upon standards there is no "expected norm." This current article introduces the concept of punctilios.
A punctilio is: A little point of conduct highlighting etiquette, or procedure.
Punctilios of citizenship refers to the precise detailed duties, ethical standards, and mind set required of an individual who views themselves as a citizen (a word indicating “inhabitant of a city” – a cite ian.
There are often a hierarchy of laws within a country. For example in the USA alone our agreed upon standards include:
1) the US Constitution, 2) the US statutory laws, 3) US administrative rules, 4) state constitutions, 5) state statutory laws, 6) state administrative rules, 7) local constituting authorities, 8) local law ordinances, 9) local administrative rules, and 10) generic principles of parliamentary procedure.
As you can see, knowing, understanding and adhering to what amounts to tens of thousands of standards at the federal statutory level, hundreds of thousands in federal administrative regulations, millions when adding all fifty states’ statutes and regulations, and an additional hundreds of thousands to millions across the local levels. The grand total across the entire hierarchy of legal standards could easily run into the millions of individual provisions, restrictions, or obligations. At each level rules are to be adhered to as written, but surely there must be a better way to effectively adhere to the standards of civilization?
Here is where Punctilios of Citizenship comes into play. Rather than millions of standards to be aware of, a small number of principles may be learned that, if adhered to, will ensure adherence to a multitude of standards. This starts with natural law.
