Why are a lot of people so obsessed nowadays with upholding and protecting their rights but not caring enough to respect other peoples’ rights? How is this behavior impacting the next generation? What type of citizens are we raising with this kind of behavior?
What does it mean to be a citizen?
By definition, a citizen is a person who lives in a place where he or she is entitled to different privileges offered by the country, state, or locality. As citizens enjoy their rights as free people, they also have duties they need to perform, like pay their taxes on time and uphold the laws of the land.
Being a citizen means that you are part of something that’s bigger than yourself. More than looking out for yourself and your rights, as a citizen, you should figure out what the people around you need and do your part to help meet those needs. It can be in the form of something simple such as throwing trash properly or something of national and greater significance like exercising your right to vote.
What do Rights mean?
Rights are the freedom that we enjoy in a community, which are protected by the laws of the land. This is why we have lawmakers and law enforcers. They ensure that a person’s rights are protected at all times without compromising other people’s rights. This is also the reason we have different types of lawyers, such as family lawyers, tax lawyers, truck driver lawyers, and estate trust litigation lawyers. They exist to help maintain order in society and keep everyone accountable for their actions.
Why are Responsibilities important?
If rights are important to a person’s existence, then responsibilities make sure that other people’s rights and freedoms are protected. Responsibilities and duties serve as boundaries that keep us from abusing our rights.
Contrary to what most people think, boundaries are there to protect us, give us greater peace, and allow us to enjoy our freedoms in a safe environment. For instance, our right to being treated nicely as individuals also means that we are to treat others in the same manner.
Remember the Golden Rule? “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Don’t expect to be treated fairly if you cannot treat others in the way you want to be treated. Having a sense of responsibility means you know your rights and you respect others’ rights as well.
Why should Rights and Responsibilities never be treated separately?
We’re living in a world where most people are all about fighting for rights. There’s nothing really wrong with that but in a lot of cases today, it seems like everyone is all about rights but disregard their responsibilities. For example, people are arguing about freedom of expression and speech and go on to say that they have every right to express themselves and say what’s on their minds. While this is true, it is only half-right.
People also need to be held responsible and accountable for the things that they say, whether it’s written or verbal. You can’t go around irresponsibly screaming “There’s a bomb!” or “There’s a fire!” and say that you have every right to say what you want to say. If you do this, you can cause mass panic or hysteria which could end up hurting people.
Rights and responsibilities should always go hand-in-hand. Otherwise, there will be an imbalance in a society which could lead to chaos. Here are a few reasons why we should never separate our rights from our responsibilities:
They create peace and harmony.
Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. They create a balance that allows people to live in peace and harmony with each other.
It is our responsibility to protect others’ rights.
A responsible person who knows his or her rights also understands that other people are entitled to enjoy those same rights. He or she thinks of the bigger picture and does what he or she can do to ensure that everyone gets to enjoy their civil liberties.
Responsibilities set boundaries for us so we don’t abuse our rights.
As stated earlier, having responsibilities along with our rights helps keep us in check and in line. It prevents us from stepping on other people’s rights. It provides healthy boundaries for us to live freely and securely in.
Rights and responsibilities create equal opportunities.
Rights and responsibilities create a healthy balance for everyone. There is no monopoly of one individual over others. It helps get rid of prejudices and biases because everyone deserves equal footing.
We have a duty to the state.
Rights come from society so it is also our responsibility to promote society’s interests using our rights. The law provides protection for our rights, therefore we should also our duty to be loyal to the state.
The bottom line is, responsibility should never be taken away from our rights. We need to stop being too self-absorbed and entitled, thinking that our rights are greater than others. If we care about our rights, we need to show other people that we care about their rights, too. At the end of the day, we can only get what we give. And this is something that we need to teach kids if we want to see a better world in our lifetime.
