The Other Side Of Human Rights

Some of the most common language in cultural and political debate these days (besides comparing people to Nazis) is the language of rights. In the Enlightenment era, philosophers began to lay a particular emphasis on the idea that humans have natural rights, and this concept has driven social change ever since. The idea was not invented by the philosophers, it was only rediscovered. It was already built in to the Christian foundations of their civilisation. As the U.S. Declaration Of Independence put it, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights”.

Our ancestors’ emphasis on rights was a new and necessary correction to a social order that was terribly out of balance. Their culture needed to remember that every human is valuable beyond calculating because every human is made in the image of God himself, and because of this, every human has a right to be treated with respect and fairness by their fellow humans. We, the children of our enlightened forebearers, no longer find concepts like equality and fairness difficult to accept. These values are no longer revolutionary. They are the basic assumptions we grow up with. But I’m afraid our emphasis on rights has led us to a different kind of imbalance.

We’ve forgotten something our ancestors knew: there is a necessary flip-side to human rights. If I have the right to be treated fairly and respectfully, then that means you have the responsibility to treat me that way. It also means that I have the responsibility to treat you that way. And just like that, another R word has slipped in beside our golden rights: responsibility. Responsibility is not a popular word. It sounds like duty and obligation, and those concepts aren’t trending right now. But if you look closely, every single right we claim has responsibility attached to it. Do we have a right to life? Then we have a responsibility not to murder, and an obligation to promote the well-being of others. Do we have a right to own things? Then we have a responsibility not to steal, or cheat. Do we have a right to hear the truth? Then we have a responsibility to speak it. Every right brings responsibilities. The two are inseparable. Without responsibilities, rights become meaningless.

In ages past, our ancestors measured their lives primarily by their responsibilities to others, not their rights for themselves. Through most of history, the lives of humans have been shaped on the basis of their responsibilities to family, community, nation, world, and God. This emphasis taught people to live for more than just themselves, and encouraged them to work for the needs of others rather than simply demanding that others work for them. Unfortunately, balance was not maintained. When human responsibilities were emphasised without reference to human rights, they often became a cynical tool used to keep people in line under oppressive systems. This is what made corrections like the Enlightenment necessary. The tables needed turning. So we turned them—but we turned them too far. Our ancestors, at times, demanded that people uphold their responsibilities, while refusing to recognise their rights. We live in a time when people demand their rights, while refusing to accept their responsibilities. It’s no wonder our world feels more and more fractured, angry, and selfish. It’s high time we dusted off our responsibilities and stopped talking as if our rights could survive without them. Don’t wait for the politicians and influencers to get on board. Responsibility doesn’t start with someone else. It starts here. Now. With you, and me.