by Ian Loft

Created on: January 13, 2007   Last Updated: April 30, 2007

The word responsibility' seems to have been replaced with the work rights'. Too often we hear about rights to freedom of speech, civil liberties, freedom of expression, whatever it is all about rights. Unfortunately the cost of swinging so far to enshrining our rights and civil liberties is people no longer accept responsibility or consequences.

I have an intellectually disabled brother that was taken under the wing of a human rights group when he turned 18. They took it upon themselves to ensure that nobody compelled him to do anything he did not wish, and that it was his right to choose for himself. Interestingly, when my brother exercised his rights' and put all his money for the week through a poker machine, this group phoned my parents and demanded they pay his living expenses. A key part of my brother's disability is the fact he cannot comprehend the meaning of consequences, if it feels good, he will do it. He is also on medication that does not react well with alcohol and the consequences of his enshrined right to drink' is that he is now a serious alcoholic and has even more serious medical problems that are likely to kill him rapidly. So much for rights'.

A person where I work completely disregarded a safety warning sign and attempted to follow a vehicle through a high speed boom gate system without waiting for the gate to close. The problem was that he was riding a pushbike and the gate was in motion by the time he reached the sensor zone too late to prevent a broken arm. This idiot actually blamed the system and attempted to influence irrational and unnecessary changes in the name of health and safety. This totally ignored the fact that it was entirely his disregard of warning signs and procedure that caused his injury.

A woman speeding on her way to work was seriously hurt in a car accident caused when she became impatient and overtook in a dangerous location. She is now attempting to sue the local council for dangerous road conditions and is seeking a significant compensation pay out. Once again this disregards the fact that she was speeding and overtook when it was unsafe to do so.

I could go on endlessly quoting real examples however the point remains that with rights come responsibility, and exercising rights also could result in consequences. By exercising our choice, we must be willing to accept the consequences and not expect the government or anyone else to pick us up and pay for our mistakes. It is time the pendulum swung back to rationality and people understand they have as much responsibility as they have rights, and their foolish or reckless behaviour will come at a personal cost.

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