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Responsibility in traditional Jewish culture

from the article:
... we live in a time when too many speak of these rights and seek to enjoy them as entitlements, but do not sufficiently recognize the responsibility to create and protect them. This is where Jews have a particular role to play.
Observing mitzvot–that is, acting on our obligations and responsibilities–means remembering the Exodus from Egypt, respecting the "other," and treating the stranger as we expect to be treated, with dignity and rights. It means expanding the fields of justice and peace by actively engaging with the poor and the most vulnerable in our American society and in the world. It means interpreting Jewish tradition in the framework of an interconnected world where famine, war, disease, and poverty anywhere on the globe affect us all. It means acting out of our Jewish value framework to set an example for others, acting on our responsibilities, and so enhancing the possibility that others will enjoy their rights.
And it means urging America and Americans to assume responsibility to work for these rights for more people, rather than assume that they will simply happen eventually.
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