The Pendulum of Rights and Duties: And the Political Affairs of Men
Rights and Duties are really nothing more than flip sides of the same coin, and they cannot be separated from each other. Yet few modern textbooks or classrooms bother to teach them from a fair and balanced perspective. This is clearly a great problem with much of Public Education, yet there has been some spill-over into private education and home schooling. With social, political, and spiritual rights come duties that help to frame and define these rights. Without a proper understanding of our duties, we cannot fully appreciate and understand our rights and the rights of others in our society. If we do not understand the proper balance between rights and duties, true freedom and prosperity will forever be the political dream but not the reality. And our socio-political structures and parties will continue to be unbalanced and fail to properly serve all of our citizens. We must start teaching rights and duties as one cohesive unit of study and not separate them - they absolutely must go hand in hand in balanced perspective. Anything that masquerades as a right, but has no duty associated with it, is not a true right. I would challenge anyone to name one right that does not have an associated duty with it.
Ask most Americans to name their "rights" and you may well get a shopping list longer than Santa's at Christmas (to include a great many desires masquerading as rights). Ask them to then name their "duties" and you may well get a long blank stare and moment of total silence. Our Creator established some pretty basic rules and laws to lead and guide human affairs. Among these is the balance between personal freedoms and our duties to maintain and preserve these same freedoms for all members of society. For example, the right to be respected by others demands a duty to respect others in return, and the right to private property demands a duty to respect other people’s private property. When separated from duties, rights become meaningless or trivial - and such can easily lead to tyranny or anarchy if left unbalanced. Try demanding respect from others if you will not respect them!
Yet in the profane halls of modern academia, most students are simply never informed of the duties that balance their rights – for their own greater good and for that of society in general. With secular humanism and self-glorification at epidemic levels in modern education, no wonder so many of our schools and students are coming out with an unbalanced education and corrupt worldview. To put some perspective on this discussion, consider the following simple chart (the chart shows up much better in this .PDF link ):
Several observations can be quickly made: (1) All rights and no duties ultimately lead to anarchy at one end of the scale, (2) at the other end of the scale, all duties and no rights ultimately lead to tyranny, (3) Only as rights and duties are balanced in the center will freedom and prosperity fully flourish, and (4) The more society moves away from the center balance towards either extreme of this scale, the more that society will lose its freedoms and prosperity. While many people have heard that Divine (or Natural) Law endows each of us with certain inalienable rights, our universal preoccupation with these rights has obscured the inalienable duties that are also imposed by Divine Law. There are two kinds of duties - public and private. Public duties relate to public morality, and these can be regulated by the police power of the State. Private duties relate to private morality between each individual and their Creator, and these can only be regulated by the self-discipline of each individual (and not by the police powers of the State).
Our inalienable duties, whether public or private, demand that we fully respect the inalienable rights of others in society if we wish them to respect our inalienable rights. No majority or group has any right or duty to deny any other minority or group of their inalienable rights and duties. Under the U.S. Constitution, we are ruled by Law and not by majority whims. Any law that breaks or defies the clear intent of the Framers of our Constitution is not valid or enforceable because the Constitution is the Supreme law of this land - and each of us has a duty to respect and honor all provisions of the U.S. Constitution, whether we personally agree with them or not.
We cannot demand rights that deny others of their rights, freedoms, and duties. When foreigners come to the United States to integrate with our society, they are free to worship as they please as long as their mode of worship does not break our laws or deny others their freedom of worship. Muslims, for example, may come to live here, but Sharia law is wholly incompatible with our Constitution and therefore cannot be enforced in Muslim communities. If Muslims refuse to abide by our laws and our Constitution while they are here, they may be prosecuted, if the disobedience is severe, or they may freely return to their home countries that are governed by Sharia law. As long as they are here, they have a duty to respect the rule of law in our Constitution. Sharia law will never be accepted here in the United States; Americans will never accept barbaric practices, like “honor” killings, that Sharia law accepts.
The following list was taken from "The 5,000 Year Leap: The 28 Great Ideas That Changed the World" by W. Cleon Skousen, National Center for Constitutional Studies, ©1991 and ©2006. These are but a sampling of the more important duties and responsibilities which our Creator has imposed on each of us with normal mental capacity:
1. The duty to honor the supremacy of our Creator and His Divine (Natural) Law.
2. The duty not to take the life of another except in matters of self-defense.
3. The duty not to steal or destroy the property of another.
4. The duty to be honest in all transactions with others.
5. The duty of children to honor and obey their parents and elders.
6. The duty of parents and elders to protect, teach, feed, clothe, and provide shelter for children.
7. The duty to support law and order and to keep the peace.
8. The duty not to covet or defraud another of their personal possessions.
9. The duty to help the helpless, sick, crippled, injured, and poverty-stricken.
10. The duty to honor our contracts and covenants with God and Man.
11. The duty to be moderate in all things at all times.
12. The duty to become economically self-sufficient.
13. The duty not to trespass on the property or privacy of another.
14. The duty to maintain the integrity of the family structure.
15. The duty to perpetuate the race.
16. The duty not to promote or participate in the vices which destroy personal and community life.
17. The duty to perform civic responsibilities.
18. The duty not to aid or abet those involved in criminal or anti-social activities.
19. The duty to support personal and public standards of common decency.
20. The duty to follow rules of moral rectitude.
I would again challenge my readers to name a single right that does not come with a duty to frame and define it. If you can come up with one, then I would dare suggest that it is not a "right" as defined by Divine or Constitutional Law. The so-called rights to have government pay your mortgage, put gas in your car, or bail out your company are not rights but socialist desires. If you want a fancy car or a big house, you have a duty to earn it and not demand it from others in society. Equal opportunity does not mean equally shared wealth and possessions. So, if you want that 60 inch plasma screen T.V., go out and earn it. If you cannot afford it, then make do with your 20 inch standard screen T.V. No one in society, not even Government, has a duty to give you everything you want and desire at someone else’s expense and not yours. Remember that without duties are rights meaningless. Without a balance between the two, society will eventually decay into either anarchy or tyranny. Socialism (a close relative of Communism, Marxism, and Fascism) is not the answer for America, but a return to our Constitution and Divine Law is the only real solution to our political and economic crises. If only we could get our President on the right track!
Ask most Americans to name their "rights" and you may well get a shopping list longer than Santa's at Christmas (to include a great many desires masquerading as rights). Ask them to then name their "duties" and you may well get a long blank stare and moment of total silence. Our Creator established some pretty basic rules and laws to lead and guide human affairs. Among these is the balance between personal freedoms and our duties to maintain and preserve these same freedoms for all members of society. For example, the right to be respected by others demands a duty to respect others in return, and the right to private property demands a duty to respect other people’s private property. When separated from duties, rights become meaningless or trivial - and such can easily lead to tyranny or anarchy if left unbalanced. Try demanding respect from others if you will not respect them!
Yet in the profane halls of modern academia, most students are simply never informed of the duties that balance their rights – for their own greater good and for that of society in general. With secular humanism and self-glorification at epidemic levels in modern education, no wonder so many of our schools and students are coming out with an unbalanced education and corrupt worldview. To put some perspective on this discussion, consider the following simple chart (the chart shows up much better in this .PDF link ):
- Rights - all rights, and no duties, lead to Anarchy
- Balanced Center - true Freedom and Prosperity
- Duties - all duties, and no rights, lead to Tyranny
Several observations can be quickly made: (1) All rights and no duties ultimately lead to anarchy at one end of the scale, (2) at the other end of the scale, all duties and no rights ultimately lead to tyranny, (3) Only as rights and duties are balanced in the center will freedom and prosperity fully flourish, and (4) The more society moves away from the center balance towards either extreme of this scale, the more that society will lose its freedoms and prosperity. While many people have heard that Divine (or Natural) Law endows each of us with certain inalienable rights, our universal preoccupation with these rights has obscured the inalienable duties that are also imposed by Divine Law. There are two kinds of duties - public and private. Public duties relate to public morality, and these can be regulated by the police power of the State. Private duties relate to private morality between each individual and their Creator, and these can only be regulated by the self-discipline of each individual (and not by the police powers of the State).
Our inalienable duties, whether public or private, demand that we fully respect the inalienable rights of others in society if we wish them to respect our inalienable rights. No majority or group has any right or duty to deny any other minority or group of their inalienable rights and duties. Under the U.S. Constitution, we are ruled by Law and not by majority whims. Any law that breaks or defies the clear intent of the Framers of our Constitution is not valid or enforceable because the Constitution is the Supreme law of this land - and each of us has a duty to respect and honor all provisions of the U.S. Constitution, whether we personally agree with them or not.
We cannot demand rights that deny others of their rights, freedoms, and duties. When foreigners come to the United States to integrate with our society, they are free to worship as they please as long as their mode of worship does not break our laws or deny others their freedom of worship. Muslims, for example, may come to live here, but Sharia law is wholly incompatible with our Constitution and therefore cannot be enforced in Muslim communities. If Muslims refuse to abide by our laws and our Constitution while they are here, they may be prosecuted, if the disobedience is severe, or they may freely return to their home countries that are governed by Sharia law. As long as they are here, they have a duty to respect the rule of law in our Constitution. Sharia law will never be accepted here in the United States; Americans will never accept barbaric practices, like “honor” killings, that Sharia law accepts.
The following list was taken from "The 5,000 Year Leap: The 28 Great Ideas That Changed the World" by W. Cleon Skousen, National Center for Constitutional Studies, ©1991 and ©2006. These are but a sampling of the more important duties and responsibilities which our Creator has imposed on each of us with normal mental capacity:
1. The duty to honor the supremacy of our Creator and His Divine (Natural) Law.
2. The duty not to take the life of another except in matters of self-defense.
3. The duty not to steal or destroy the property of another.
4. The duty to be honest in all transactions with others.
5. The duty of children to honor and obey their parents and elders.
6. The duty of parents and elders to protect, teach, feed, clothe, and provide shelter for children.
7. The duty to support law and order and to keep the peace.
8. The duty not to covet or defraud another of their personal possessions.
9. The duty to help the helpless, sick, crippled, injured, and poverty-stricken.
10. The duty to honor our contracts and covenants with God and Man.
11. The duty to be moderate in all things at all times.
12. The duty to become economically self-sufficient.
13. The duty not to trespass on the property or privacy of another.
14. The duty to maintain the integrity of the family structure.
15. The duty to perpetuate the race.
16. The duty not to promote or participate in the vices which destroy personal and community life.
17. The duty to perform civic responsibilities.
18. The duty not to aid or abet those involved in criminal or anti-social activities.
19. The duty to support personal and public standards of common decency.
20. The duty to follow rules of moral rectitude.
I would again challenge my readers to name a single right that does not come with a duty to frame and define it. If you can come up with one, then I would dare suggest that it is not a "right" as defined by Divine or Constitutional Law. The so-called rights to have government pay your mortgage, put gas in your car, or bail out your company are not rights but socialist desires. If you want a fancy car or a big house, you have a duty to earn it and not demand it from others in society. Equal opportunity does not mean equally shared wealth and possessions. So, if you want that 60 inch plasma screen T.V., go out and earn it. If you cannot afford it, then make do with your 20 inch standard screen T.V. No one in society, not even Government, has a duty to give you everything you want and desire at someone else’s expense and not yours. Remember that without duties are rights meaningless. Without a balance between the two, society will eventually decay into either anarchy or tyranny. Socialism (a close relative of Communism, Marxism, and Fascism) is not the answer for America, but a return to our Constitution and Divine Law is the only real solution to our political and economic crises. If only we could get our President on the right track!