søndag 19. mars 2017

Claiming Your Rights vs Doing What is Right



Since Dame Onora O’Neill was awarded the Holberg Prize this year, I was alerted to her work in Kantian philosophical traditions. There was a line in the newspaper that struck a cord with me. It referred to her stance on not only claiming our human rights but also doing our human duty. I have since youth had a positive impression of duty, due to reading Kant in my early studies. Something is required of me; I am a contributor in any society.

            I listened to a TED talk with Onora O’Neill where she talked about trust. Instead of posing the question of how we could build trust, she unlocked the case from the inside. It is not trust we need to seek, as it is a result. We need to offer trustworthiness, being trustworthy, and by daring to be vulnerable in order to build trust. Trust is something that is given; not something you produce. Trustworthiness is something we can provide – rather than the trust itself. I could see her point, and it is a fair one.
            I often say I trust in God. The only reason I can say that is because God has shown himself to be trustworthy.  The words of Jesus, whatever he says about God, are trustworthy. He, after all, sacrificed his life for it. And it did not stop there. In his resurrection he showed his victory over death. Yes, he is trustworthy.

So, how does this connect with asserting one’s rights vs. doing one’s duty? Naturally, there is no necessary opposition, but if we solely claim our rights, demand respect, force our worth on others, we miss the point. We are like narcissistic self-help enthusiasts, grabbing our piece of the pie (and then some), without concern for others. There is a responsibility in being human: the responsibility I carry for someone else’s rights and freedoms. My own are fully contingent on theirs.  In my duty to share and be concerned for the wellbeing of others, I build trustworthiness and the common human bond may strengthen.

            Likewise, as I trust in God for my life and death, I know He holds my hope for the future, and I have no fears. Because He cares for me and showers me with good gifts, I have everything to give. This is a perpetual life principle where we all seem to benefit. The strength is never gone; the ‘pie’ is truly blessed.