Thread: The Flip-Side of Rights and Privileges

We talk a lot about the Rights and Privileges that the US Constitution and the other laws of the land provide us here in the United States. We expect that these things are sacred and beyond even the thought of removal from the average citizen. Yet we rarely look at the opposite side of the coin.... the Duties and Responsibilities of a Citizen.

I've long wondered why, considering the great length the Founding Fathers went to in enumerating the Rights of the the People, there is no wording or section of the US Constitution or its Amendments discussing the Duties and Responsibilities of the People. These men were neither fools nor imbeciles and they had to comprehend that Rights and Privileges generally come with certain Duties and Responsibilities. Yet there are none mentioned in their Founding document. Nor is there really anywhere in any of their correspondance that I have ever seen, read, or heard about. That has always confused me.

My personal take on it is that they were incredibly naive individuals who believed that society and the citizenry could be expected to instinctively know, understand, embrace, and carry on the traditions of their time period when it came to what was expected of the citizenry. Obviously that has not happened to any measurable level.

I'm intersted to hear other's opinions on whether such Duties and Responsibilities exist, either in writing or just in the general course of society; what people think they are; and why there was no enumeration of them.

Originally Posted by Tigger

I'm intersted to hear other's opinions on whether such Duties and Responsibilities exist, either in writing or just in the general course of society; what people think they are; and why there was no enumeration of them.

Yes, we certainly have a duty and responsibility to not beat up women.

Some truly pathetic individuals looking for a sense of power over those they see as weaker ignore their responsibility in this regard, however.

Originally Posted by Gardener

Yes, we certainly have a duty and responsibility to not beat up women.

Some truly pathetic individuals looking for a sense of power over those they see as weaker ignore their responsibility in this regard, however.

100% irrelevant to the topic of the conversation. I would ask you to keep your comments relevant to the topic of the Duties and Responsibilities of US Citizens as related to the Rights and Privileges we enjoy as such.

Originally Posted by Tigger

100% irrelevant to the topic of the conversation. I would ask you to keep your comments relevant to the topic of the Duties and Responsibilities of US Citizens as related to the Rights and Privileges we enjoy as such.

No, it is quite relevant.

Despite the fact you have created quite the elaborate justifications in your head to rationalize your abuse of others, your actual responsibilities entail your NOT doing so. You can prattle on all you want about these "rights and responsibilities", but until you actually apply them to yourself rather than manufacturing imaginary ones to justify your sickness, all you are doing is blowing smoke.

Originally Posted by Tigger

We talk a lot about the Rights and Privileges that the US Constitution and the other laws of the land provide us here in the United States. We expect that these things are sacred and beyond even the thought of removal from the average citizen. Yet we rarely look at the opposite side of the coin.... the Duties and Responsibilities of a Citizen.

I've long wondered why, considering the great length the Founding Fathers went to in enumerating the Rights of the the People, there is no wording or section of the US Constitution or its Amendments discussing the Duties and Responsibilities of the People. These men were neither fools nor imbeciles and they had to comprehend that Rights and Privileges generally come with certain Duties and Responsibilities. Yet there are none mentioned in their Founding document. Nor is there really anywhere in any of their correspondance that I have ever seen, read, or heard about. That has always confused me.

My personal take on it is that they were incredibly naive individuals who believed that society and the citizenry could be expected to instinctively know, understand, embrace, and carry on the traditions of their time period when it came to what was expected of the citizenry. Obviously that has not happened to any measurable level.

I'm intersted to hear other's opinions on whether such Duties and Responsibilities exist, either in writing or just in the general course of society; what people think they are; and why there was no enumeration of them.

I find that people see duties and responsibilities from too many varying angles to really come to a consensus(Personally, I feel it's a person's duty to behave with some degree of altruism.) More importantly, though, is a person's use of their rights and their limits. From where I stand, a person only possesses rights until they infringe upon those of others and it is one's duty to respect this fact.

Originally Posted by Gardener

Despite the fact you have created quite the elaborate justifications in your head to rationalize your abuse of others, your actual responsibilities entail your NOT doing so.

Again, whether you're correct of not, that has no relation to the topic of this thread. That type of responsibility (if it exists) is not at all related to the level of Duties and Responsibilities that are the topic of this thread.

Originally Posted by Gardener

No, it is quite relevant.

Despite the fact you have created quite the elaborate justifications in your head to rationalize your abuse of others, your actual responsibilities entail your NOT doing so. You can prattle on all you want about these "rights and responsibilities", but until you actually apply them to yourself rather than manufacturing imaginary ones to justify your sickness, all you are doing is blowing smoke.

That's not the point however. This thread is about the pieces our founding fathers were missing, not Tigger's personal life. If you want to chastise him about this and that, do it in an appropriate forum, or via PM.

Originally Posted by waas

I find that people see duties and responsibilities from too many varying angles to really come to a consensus(Personally, I feel it's a person's duty to behave with some degree of altruism.) More importantly, though, is a person's use of their rights and their limits. From where I stand, a person only possesses rights until they infringe upon those of others and it is one's duty to respect this fact.

So your idea is that the only real Duty/Responsibility is to use your Righst in an appropriate manner. Interesting take on things.

It's a very good general point - responsibilities should (but generally don't) receive equal consideration in any discussion of rights.

On this specifically though, the US Constitution isn't really about granting rights, only about establishing limitations on federal government denying them. There was an assumption that the fundamental rights of man were already determined by a higher power, just as existed in Europe of the time. There are generally responsibilities associated with concepts of higher powers too of course, though as with today, people tended to give their rights more significance than their responsibilities.

Domestic (and international) law has evolved over time to effectively enumerate our responsibilities as well as our rights, as well as establish procedures for managing conflicts between them. Sadly, I think the US Constitution as it is often (ab)used these days poses more of a blockage than a benefit to this.

There is no such thing as duties and responsibilities attached to the rights. Where do you people get this stuff?