We have a duty to read. This much is true. Reading is a deontological ethic. We are responsible for learning about the world and its people through literacy.

In the same sense, reading is like voting. We have a responsibility—a duty—to be informed about candidates and issues and to cast our votes.

So if reading is like voting, writing is like volunteering, running for office, and participating in civics.

This means that it is the duty of leaders to be informed, and it is the duty of writers to do their reading.