Rights AND Responsibilities not OR Responsibilities

Looking back at a discussion from 4 years ago, here are my current thoughts on Jordan Peterson’s view of how we speak to young people about rights and responsibilities, with thanks to Giles Davis and Michael Snow for their contributions to the original discussion which are incorporated here.

This is my understanding of Peterson’s view:

‘Young people are being fooled about ‘Rights’.

‘It’s better for young people to focus on their responsibilities rather than their rights. Rights, though important, are inherently selfish; they are about me. Responsibilities are selfless; what I must do for others or wider society.

Young people have been cared for all their lives thus far. As adults they need to give back to the world. But it’s not merely an issue of obligation. All people, including youngsters, need meaning in their lives. Meaning is to be found in responsibility, what can I give, not rights, what do I get.

People find meaning in the responsibilities within their careers, their family, their friends, charitable work they do for others, the education they pursue and the voluntary obligations they undertake within society.

It’s not the rights that are granted to you so that you can be awarded your rewards and privileges that will make your time-limited life on Earth worthwhile. It is instead the sacrifices you make to the highest good that you can conceptualize and strive to attain. The responsibility you take for yourself and within society.

Beware the pedlars of more and more ‘rights’. They wish to turn you into someone who is simultaneously privileged and victimized.
Whining; narcissistic; noisy; demanding; chronically resentful and unhappy; distracted from seeing the bigger picture; everything in dualistic conflict.
Importantly, always looking to authority to give you something; to make your life better; infantilising you.

Instead, take on responsibility; shoulder them willingly; make yourself useful to others; stop telling others how evil they are and how righteous you are; find the heaviest burden you can bear and bear it stoically, forthrightly, admirably and without complaint.

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To me it's about balance, as with most things. It's good that young people are aware of their rights (i.e. not to be abused), but they also need to be aware of their responsibilities. One without the other potentially leads to problems. Both/And not Either/Or. Yin & Yang must be in balance.

But we aren't very good at getting balance on social change in the UK. We see something that we think needs changing and instead of aiming for balance, so often the pendulum moves to the opposite extreme, which is just as bad, (an extreme), from the situation before change was initiated.

It's because activists & campaigners are very good at calling for and making the case for change at a political/societal level but don't think through to the end game.
Zealots seldom do.
In a sense, they get caught up in the frenzy of war but don't have a clear idea what the peace should look like or how to bring it about in a fair way
They seem happy with the victor simply becoming a tyrant, since they assume they will win. It’s the mindset of Hitler and Stalin and Mao etc.
They also give no thought to the unintended consequences of their campaigns on wider society.
Total victory is the only goal; the aftermath will have to take care of itself.

But as I’ve said above, under the ideas of non-dual philosophy, one needs to get away from the idea of EITHER/OR rights and responsibilities, and look at BOTH/AND.
It's the right of every human being to find out who and what they really are. And more, it’s their responsibility to find that out.
To discover. Dis - cover.
In other words to pull back the veil; to come out of what one is not, to comprehend really and truly what one is.

That is the real right AND the real responsibility of each and every one of us.