I don’t typically feel the need to voice my opinions so strongly, but I had an epiphany this morning that has directly allowed me to solidify my opinion on this particular matter.
I believe whole-heartedly in equal rights for all people, BUT I don’t believe in equal priveleges.
Allow me to explain:
As did the Founding Fathers, I also believe there are certain inalienable rights that should be afforded to and protected for all individuals, without regard to anything else. The Bill of Rights outlines them just fine, so I won’t take the time to repeat them here.
Now, having defined what I support as rights, here is what I absolutely do not agree with:
Nobody has the RIGHT to hold a job. It is a privelege to be able to provide for yourself and your dependants.
It is a privelege to drive, to own a vehicle, and to afford gas. It is not absolutely critical for anybody to have any oth these things, and they are not requirements for basic survival.
It is not a right to live off the merits or earnings of another person. It is a privelege to be supported (financially or otherwise) by someone else. It is a privelege to be on welfare or any other government system that keeps you alive.
It is a privelege to serve in the public domain, not a right. If you have been elected to a position within any realm of government (local, state, federal), you should hold that position in the highest regard. You should respect the people that elected you, even though not everybody actually chose your name on the ballot. You should respect those that disagree with you and allow them to voice their opinion to you even if you disagree entirely. You are there to represent us… Remember? You told us that.
I feel like I can go on with this for days, but I’ll stop there for now. Feel free to chime in with your own opinion(s).
5 responses so far ↓
1 Melissa // Aug 9, 2008 at 8:41 am
I’m just curious as to what started this trip on the soapbox. Yesterday I heard some pretty awful politician news myself (John Edwards’ admission that he had an affair), and I was heartbroken.
I agree that elected official should respect the position and respect the people. I wonder, though, if it actually is possible to make it to the top without being corrupt. This is clearly not the same thing AT ALL, but I have been reading The Other Bolyn Girl, and one of the main ideas is that it is not possible to be at court without being corrupted. No one is safe from the sex and lies and money and everything that goes along with it. I am starting to think that United States politics, at least on the national level, isn’t much different.
I’m not sure where that leaves me, though.
2 Adam // Aug 12, 2008 at 10:57 am
Amen, brotha. No one wants to be accountable for their own choices in life. No one wants consequences. And most left-wingers are the reason these notions are perpetuated. It’s a pretty cool message they’ve got: free everything…no matter what you choose to do with your life!! Yay. Everyone is a winner.
3 Alex V. // Aug 13, 2008 at 9:22 am
Adam, I disagree with your broad generalisation. Many people want to to be accountable for their own choices. Many people want consequence. And many people expect them. The problem is that these people do not make news. These people are the oft-referenced “silent majority.” There are many in politics who are actually there because they want to make a difference, and because they believe that they can make a difference. Think of how many people we have in Congress. Now think of how many of them you actually hear about. Do you ever hear the names of the representatives and the Senators who are doing the right thing? Unless they are from your district, probably not. Instead, you hear about the schmucks and the losers.
As disappointed as I am with many in the system, I refuse to believe that all are corrupt, and that all have gone astray. And yes, I totally agree that what many people trumpet as “rights” truly are privileges. There was a time when people recognised this. I blame FDR and the New Deal for the shift.
4 Adam // Aug 13, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Alex, there was an implied paranthetical to my statements regarding the people I was referencing…
“No one (the complainers, whiners, hand-out seekers, career welfare recipients, and all those who trumpet the virtue and rights of all those people merely as a way to grind their axes against corporations, the rich, or anyone they want to blame for society’s ills merely as a way to gain their own publicity) wants to be accountable…”
It was broad, yes, but I was pretty sure you knew what I was getting at.
5 Alex V. // Aug 14, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Oh, I’m sure I did
But I just can’t sit by and let you make broad generalisations that paint a bleak picture of your children’s future, now can I?
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