(and feel free to comment! My older posts are certainly no less relevant to the burning concerns of the day.)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Simple As That! #3: Rights
A right is not something you lack, that the government has to give you. A right is something you already have, that the government is not permitted to take away.
At work (free legal advice centre), my friends/colleagues and I are bombarded with clients calling us to ask “what are my rights in regards to blah, blah, blah?”. We take great delight in telling the ones that are horrible, ungrateful, contribute-nothing-to-society slackers that they have no rights, only responsibilities.
We live in a society of citizens that is increasingly concerned with what they are owed, what they think they deserve, and not on what they should put-in.
It may be argued (as an example) that a child born into neglect and abuse should have the right to a safe and protected environment. As a compassionate community, I think we should want to help that child, and the majority of us would certainly want to, but I think that any help or assistance is not a right, but a demonstration of humanity’s ability to protect and be concerned for the at-risk.
I guess, coming from a country with no Bill of Rights, I/we have a different take on this whole concept of what we are entitled to. And I guess my job gives me a skewed view of the world. When I say I don’t think we have rights, I don’t mean that harshly. I guess I just mean, it’s more constructive to expect nothing and earn what you get. We are born owed nothing, and should try to leave with no debt to society. And, we should want to protect each others freedom and safety.
What makes me question my beliefs on this topic though is events such as the incarceration of Nelson Mandela. That is so obviously a travesty, a denial of basic human rights that I have to go back and reassess my whole point of whatver it is I was just going on about. So, you know, don't listen to me, what would I know!
1 comment:
At work (free legal advice centre), my friends/colleagues and I are bombarded with clients calling us to ask “what are my rights in regards to blah, blah, blah?”. We take great delight in telling the ones that are horrible, ungrateful, contribute-nothing-to-society slackers that they have no rights, only responsibilities.
We live in a society of citizens that is increasingly concerned with what they are owed, what they think they deserve, and not on what they should put-in.
It may be argued (as an example) that a child born into neglect and abuse should have the right to a safe and protected environment. As a compassionate community, I think we should want to help that child, and the majority of us would certainly want to, but I think that any help or assistance is not a right, but a demonstration of humanity’s ability to protect and be concerned for the at-risk.
I guess, coming from a country with no Bill of Rights, I/we have a different take on this whole concept of what we are entitled to. And I guess my job gives me a skewed view of the world. When I say I don’t think we have rights, I don’t mean that harshly. I guess I just mean, it’s more constructive to expect nothing and earn what you get. We are born owed nothing, and should try to leave with no debt to society. And, we should want to protect each others freedom and safety.
What makes me question my beliefs on this topic though is events such as the incarceration of Nelson Mandela. That is so obviously a travesty, a denial of basic human rights that I have to go back and reassess my whole point of whatver it is I was just going on about. So, you know, don't listen to me, what would I know!
Having said all that, however…
One thing will always be true …
You gotta fight for your right to par-tay!
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