Unfortunately, those not exercising this "right," that is the traditional two-parent families bear the brunt of these phenomena. Their incomes are heavily taxed to bear the burden of the "rights" of those who are passing the bill on without paying their fair share.
This brings up what Mr. Lloyd calls the other "R"-responsibility. The emphasis upon rights has impoverished the social discourse. For rights to be meaningful and workable, they have to have a context or framework to exist in. This is where responsibility comes in. What differentiates Mr. Lloyd from other authorities is that he deepens the definition of responsibilities beyond simply recognizing and protecting other people's "rights." He is reaching for the stuff that holds countries together, that is the type of responsibility that builds communities. For this reason, advocates a return to the biblical heritage upon which British and American constitutional concepts rest (Lloyd, 2008).
J.B. Williams in their article with reference to rights and responsibilities is advocating a similar viewpoint to the Lloyd article. In this case, he takes to task Howard Dean for differing with President Bush during a time of war, questioning his Mr. Dean's judgment about publicly contradicting the his commander-in-chief's Iran policy (Williams, 2005. Will this "lack of responsibility" hinder America's fight in the war on terror)?
In this author's view, the right vs. responsibility argument requires a balance. Too often, the demand for responsibility from people and that they give up their rights (such as in the war on terror) tends to open-ended. Volumes can be filled with examples of dictatorships that came from free societies...
On the other hand, societies have fallen in the very same dictatorship types of situations when anarchy reigns and order falls apart.
To further this discussion, the author found a possible balance in an article on rights vs. responsibility by Matthew C. Perez. His stunning and poignant argument is that our responsibility is to make sure that we make it possible for future generations to have rights (Perez, 2006).
This is the ultimate balance. We enjoy the blessings of liberty and rights and then show our gratitude by preserving and passing on a system that will ensure that this will be the heritage of our children and grandchildren. In this way, there will be no contradiction between rights and responsibilities anymore.
Works Cited
Legal vs. moral rights, rights vs. responsibilities, freedom vs. equality. (2007, August 11).
Retrieved 23 July 2010 from http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2007/08/11/legal-vs.-moral-rights-rights-vs.-responsibilities-freedom-vs.-equality/
Perez, Matthew C. (2006, November 26). Rights vs. responsibilities: it is the "responsibility" of the citizens of a society to protect the "rights" granted to them by previous generations . Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/89196/rights_versus_responsibilities.html?cat=9
Social issue: rights vs. responsibilities. (2008, Winter). Retrieved 23 July 2010 from http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=4750
Williams, J.B. (2005, August 15). Rights vs. responsibilities. Retrieved 23 July 2010
from http://jb-
williams.com/8-15-05.htm
