Why "Cursus honorum"

Blogging is a way for every citizen to make his/her voice heard, and thus blogging is a step in the "Cursus honorum" for every American citizen. Is the progression fixed as it was for Romans? Not really, but I can think of steps that every good American citizen should take:

• Any citizen who can write and has access to a computer can publish a blog. There is no excuse for not writing one - most public libraries have user-acessable computers.
• Citizens of voting age should be registered, so that they are available to participate in the third branch of our government (as jurors dispensing justice to our fellow citizens.
• Citizens should vote. If there is anything we can learn from the last seven years (2000-2006 inclusive), it is that every vote does count.
• Citizens should regularly write their elected representatives, even if they come from a politcal persuasion you don't agree with. Remember that most folks in elected offices are politicians first, members of a party second. They want your votes and will listen to the will of the people for the most part.
• Make your views publicly known, by letters to the editor of your local newspaper and blogging. I favor blogging, because editors will only publish a small fraction of submissions, and by nature letters to the editor are censored (another Roman term), if not for content, at least in the process of selection.
  
• Citizens should volunteer for some form of public service. It can be anywhere, from military service to a local church group. Paying your taxes is not sufficient for being a good citizen.
  

Every good citizen can do more than the minimum. The Cursus honorum I suggest here is the road to a better tomorrow for us all. If I am missing a step, please suggest it to me.