I'm not scholarly enough to be of much assistance, I'm afraid -- however, I saw bits and pieces of a show on The History Channel around the 4th of July that explained that the whole "Taxation Without Representation" was pretty much bunk.

I told my boys that a "Government OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people" sometimes means that you have to do things like jury duty to make sure it still IS "OF the people."

Sorry, I'm not much help. But I'm a hella good researcher. If you'd like, I can see what I might be able to dig up!

While the example is not precisely flawless, I think a good idea (and a good lesson, too) would be to explain an activity that is both a duty and a privilege by comparing it to our commitment as Christians to financially support our church (be it by offerings, tithes, whatever).

We, as God's people, are called to support our churches, as Paul states so well in his letters (especially 2 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians). It is clearly our duty as a Christians, since it is the will of God that we might do so. But then, how could a church, which is the Body of He who owns everything including the wealth of the world, need our support? That is, because God granted us this duty not as a burden, but as a privilege. Is by way of this privilege, that our humblest monies will never become a pittance in God's kingdom, and that's why the offering is, or should be, part of the Christian worship.

When my girls asked me why I had to do this (or face fines and jail time), I explained to them my privilege and duty as a citizen in this great country. They questioned the relationship between privilege and obligation.
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Ok... let me take a stab at this from my point of view.

1) Every American has the right to a trial of a 'jury of their peers' (i.e. other American citizens).

Therefore I believe it to be every citizen’s privilege to ensure that their fellow citizen's rights are upheld and to serve on a jury.

2) To ensure that a jury is as unbiased as possible both sides of an issue have the right to remove (either for cause or a limited number for no particular reason depending on the type of trial) jurors they feel will not fairly listen to the fact (or realistically who will be more likely to vote against them).

Therefore to ensure a reasonable pool of people who are not likely to be biased the court issues a summons to a group of people selected (more or less) at random. In order to make this system work well each citizen has an obligation to accept the court’s summons unless circumstances prevent them from serving on the jury (injury, vital work, military duty, etc.)

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Hope that is of some possible use....

Thanks, guys! I think everyone gave very helpful contributions :)