Rights, Right and Wrong

Status
Not open for further replies.

DMcFadden

Puritanboard Commissioner
After a frustrating week of often unbalanced and untrue media reports of the Indiana debacle over the RFRA, I started reflecting on the current rage over rights . . .

A culture addicted to freedom of choice can too easily slip into the sloppy thinking that leads us to confuse “rights” with “right.” What a difference one letter makes!

Having a “right” do so something must never be confused with it being “right” (or wise, or loving, or prudent).

I have a “right” to treat people badly, to lie and gossip with abandon, to drink myself to death, to cheat on my wife, to spew hatred, to avoid ever going to the dentist, and to invest all of my retirement money in the Lotto. Only a fool with the moral sensibility of a rutabaga would promulgate a moral equivalency between what is good, right, and moral and every fool thing I might have a “right” to do.

We live in a culture intent on expanding the “rights” of people to do things formerly forbidden as illegal or immoral. Now, however, in addition to such expansion of the moral and legal code into the realm of “rights,” it is not enough to permit diversity of choices in a pluralistic society. We are actually expected to praise those “rights” as “right” or risk being labeled intolerant and hateful.

You have a “right” to believe that 2+2 = 5. But, it still isn’t the “right” answer. I will uphold your right to be wrong. Just don't expect me to cheer when you are.
 
This is a "hot" topic. Unless you specifically desired for it to be in General discussions, would it perhaps be better to move it to a members only forum instead?
 
Our culture since at least the civil rights era have wanted rights due to the fact that they are a minority. Rights don't come from being in a minority but by being a human otherwise they lead to special rights which we have seen.
 
I posted several like items on my Facebook account and do not care who knows it. If some would rather protect their anonymity, it is fine with me if the thread gets moved. I'll leave it to the admins.
 
Very well put! Not only has our culture confused rights with right, we have become a society of enablers. Our culture enables people in immoral conduct and some states even forbid reparative therapy. So the right to leave behind certain kinds of addictive immoral conduct is being eroded.
 
We as Believers should not judge right and wrong by the worlds standards because we are not of this world but know what is right and wrong by the word of God.
 
Rights vs entitlements

". . . there is a hard and fast difference between rights and entitlements, a difference which the past seventy years of government policy has blurred to the point of indistinguishability. A free society must recognize the distinction. Otherwise, it has no way of knowing which claims of rights to acknowledge and which to reject as spurious. Legitimate rights are easy to recognize. They can be acted on by individuals without the assistance of government and without forcibly interfering with other individuals. Entitlements, on the other hand, cannot be fulfilled except through specific government actions which require forcible interference with others."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top