jury duty

The reaction of most people when I told them I have jury duty today is, “Ugh, sorry.” But not me. Nope. I just rip that envelope open, eager to see where I’ll be fulfilling my patriotic duty, ready to serve.

Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But I certainly don’t get all annoyed or start making up excuses. It’s called a democracy, people. People in oppressed countries would kill for such a privilege. Of course, then they’d get their own trial. Still.

The point remains that you should not be a whiner when it comes to serving on a jury of your peers. They are, after all, your peers. OK, maybe Vinnie doesn’t seem like your peer at first blush because he knocked off a daycare center, but he is. He’s you in a desperate situation. And, like a good peer, you have to let him know that this was a dumb choice and deliver a “guilty” verdict. But if Vinnie looks like a nice guy and promises never to do it again, well, OK. Not guilty it is.

Mostly though, I like jury duty because they tend to spring you at lunch, which means the afternoon off—a patriotic thing indeed.