Monday Musings...
And a very happy George Washington's Birthday to all of you.
Didn't think I'd see RAIN again until April or May, but here it is.
Those a bit farther north are getting more snow, and even we may be getting some later today.
But, in the meantime, I'll revel in this LIQUID precipitation for a change, at least until the temperature drops a few degrees (and hope to hell the crocuses don't get confused, come up early and die prematurely).
Since we've had a lot of the snow that we received the last two weeks melting away, it makes it a lot easier to spot all the refuse that has been tossed from the primate hands of the local band of litterbugs.
Around here, a snowfall doesn't just look nice to the eye...it hides a multitude of sins from these people.
Personally, I detest littering. It's stupid, serves NO purpose, and causes blight upon what would otherwise be nice landscape or wilderness. And PUH-LEASE don't give me that line about "I'm recycling...it's biodegradable" BS.
The human body is ALSO biodegradable, but I'm not going around capping these morons in their boneheads and claiming such behavior on my part as "environmentally-friendly" in any way, am I (yet) ?
Now, I suppose it's everyone's "right" to litter.
I mean, it's not exactly a privilege, is it?
So, it MUST be a right.
No, it's really neither. It's a bane to our lifestyles...period.
It really bothers me whenever I hear about someone's "rights", as defined by whoever decides to define it, as opposed to what our LAWS actually say.
(uh, oh...I smell a SEGUE coming...)
The Declaration of Independence says we are "Endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS". The "happiness" part used to be PROPERTY, but was changed, due to the slave issue in the colonies. Even back then, the writers of this document KNEW that "property" (such as slaves) was NOT a "right" of the people.
Then, there is the BILL OF RIGHTS, found at the beginning of our U.S. Constitution.
To summarize the Bill of Rights amendments:
1st: Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, right to petition
2nd: Sovereign state, To bear arms
3rd: Protection from quartering of troops
4th: Protection from UNREASONABLE search & seizure
5th: Due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination & eminent domain
6th: Trial by jury, rights of the accused, right to counsel, speedy trial, public trial, confrontation clause
7th: CIVIL trial by jury
8th: Prohibition of EXCESSIVE BAIL and "cruel and unusual" punishment
9th: Protection of rights not enumerated in the Bill of Rights
10th: Powers of states and people
So there 'ya go...in a nutshell.
Now, I didn't find anything in there about certain things many people erroneously take for granted as being "rights"...
And, it's at this point, that I might cheese off some folks, but bear with me.
We (meaning any or all of us) do NOT have a "right" to a JOB.
We do NOT have a "right" to a place to live.
We do NOT have a "right" to a vehicle that we can drive, nor the license to operate it.
We do NOT even have a "right" to an education.
Like I said, this might get some people turned off real fast, but there is a reason THESE things were not included (aside from not having cars back in the late 1700s).
These were considered PRIVILEGES.
You were NEVER "entitled" to them, per se.
You WERE expected to AVAIL yourself of them when feasible.
In other words, you were expected to WORK, in order to make MONEY, so you could either BUILD or BUY a place to live.
Back then, the "barter system" meant a lot more, to which one person would swap trade for trade. You help me build my house, and I'll help you till your fields...that kinda stuff.
Granted, we have a "more complex" type of society, but the core principles are still sound.
We are paid wages for our work, and then we take those wages and buy what we need.
You don't automatically get all this (and perhaps more) by sitting on your ass doing nothing.
But that's what this society has "evolved" into.
Too many folks are getting that "free pass", while everyone ELSE pays for it.
Call it a redistribution of wealth and resources, if you will.
And just ask anyone that lives in a socialistic society if this is what it's all about, and they will reply: "yes, it is".
We, the working are there to "serve the state", and to make ALL men prosperous, as it were.
Now, I never believed that mankind in general (or Americans in particular) were ever meant to be "taken care of".
We might take care of OTHERS (elsewhere), but OUR job to to take care of OURSELVES first.
For if we cannot do so, how can we effectively take care of anyone else?
Hell, taking care of ourselves in order to take care of one another is what got this nation started, right?
We ARE all equal, in that we all have the exact same CHANCE, or OPPORTUNITY to make out of life what we CHOOSE to.
If we sit back, do nothing, and expect the "next guy" to do it all for us, that's certainly not fair TO that guy, is it?
He's busting HIS ass for "us", as it were, and what is HE getting in return, other and a "thank you" once in a while (if that), hmm?
Now, the education is mandated by LAW, and therefor NOT a "right", nor a privilege, although the institutions at which we acquire this education are meant to be MORE of a privilege than a right. The surroundings and amenities are there to make the educational experience less "painful", or keep us from feeling like we're being held hostage in a classroom.
After all, knowledge is there to make us BETTER PEOPLE, to keep us from making all those bad mistakes in life, as well as pursuing that "happiness" thing above.
And who can really argue with that?
Still, it's bothersome to see so many demanding so much in life from everyone else, while choosing to do nothing in exchange.
Part of life consists of DOING FOR ONESELF. If you can't do anything for yourself, how in God's name can you expect to do for others, anyway? And that includes any children that may come along.
Can we argue that being lazy is one's right to "freedom of expression"?
I would maintain that it IS, in as much as it doesn't affect or have an impact on everyone else along the way. You are totally free to be lazy when it does NOT conflict with other people and their right to be productive individuals within our society. When you become a burden to others (and their rights) BECAUSE of your "slothfulness" or unwillingness to do that which others do as a part of their everyday life, you are violating the rights of many.
This is totally exclusive of health concerns or other facets that render a person less capable in any way, shape, or form.
What I am talking about here is a purposeful CHOICE to do nothing while others do for you.
And whether people wish to believe it or not, a person's rights END where everyone else's rights BEGIN.
Think of it as an invisible but Constitutional "sphere of influence" surrounding us all.
I feel the basic tenets of what was written down in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution serve us well, even to this day...and beyond. We need not look for "rights" where none are clearly exhibited, nor should any of us confuse a right with a privilege.
We have rights...AND we have privileges.
We should not knowingly deprive another of those rights, nor deny a privilege when it is deserved.
To do so takes us all down the wrong path in life as a people and as a nation.
Now if THAT isn't something to rattle about in the old cranium today, I really don't know what is.
Be well, make a difference today, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.