"I have a right!"
How many times have we heard these words uttered, both upon televised media or out on the streets?
We live in a World where we have been taught to consider our rights as sacred.
They can come in many forms... and some (OK - many) of us tend to take them for granted.
Don’t Worry! It’s a Sure Deal.
This could simply be because we have spent so long a time without having to worry about benefiting from something such that it ever being withdrawn from us seems inconceivable.
The ‘right’ to eat is one example of this. When was the last time that we needed to hunt down our prey or grow our food from the Earth so as to eat?
Today many of us work to eat. We have traded off our earlier hunting/ farming roles for that of worker.
Work?! I Don’t Need to Work. Eating is My Right!
The other possibility is that we have lost our way – especially so over recent centuries. We struggle to comprehend that these same things that we consider ‘rights’ also have strings attached.
These are called Responsibilities.
This is the price that must be paid in order to ‘earn’ one’s Rights.
Think About It…
Everybody has heard of the term “Human Rights”.
Human rights are so ubiquitous that they are never questioned…
…and yet…
…have you ever heard of anybody speaking of “Human Responsibilities”?
No? Well perhaps somebody should start speaking of such. There is plenty of catching up to do.
But What is the Big Deal? These Are Still My Rights!
Not exactly.
They are the rights that you claim. A big difference.
Rights and Responsibilities are linked. If the former is the product then the latter is the price.
Expecting Rights without any desire to live up to the Responsibilities entailed is quite akin to a beggar thrusting cupped hands your way and being offended should you not offer a satisfactory “donation to the cause”. Now if you had accepted that beggar’s offer to clean your shoes then the offense taken would likely have some justification.
It is that unpleasant expectation of ‘something for nothing’ (rights for no responsibilities) that is gaining recognition in the form of the term ‘entitlement’.
In Conclusion.
Rights are nice but be mindful and ready to also accept the Responsibilities that such entail. Look around you with fresh eyes. Listen with ears tuned to a new channel. While a fair number of people do more-or-less live up to their responsibilities, you will likely find it easier to pin-point exceptions as they happen.
If more people were mindful then the World that we live in could become a kinder place.
Thank you for giving this a look-through. I would appreciate any feedback and critique that you Steemians have to offer.
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