Dear Sir,

Re: Concentration on Rights but not Responsibilities

Recent articles, letters-to-the-editor and online comments accompanying the preceding seemed to be focused on the rights of individuals. There is a concerted pushback in modern times against any individual being required, by an outside body, to carry out any act.

It is acknowledged that, in the past, religious authorities and various elites have had an outsize impact on the rules of society and the manner in which individuals should conduct their lives. However, that does not mean that rules should be laid aside; rather it means that rules should be developed with the full participation of all sectors of society including elites, religious as well as non-committed persons.

One must recall that it is modern times that resulted in the Jewish holocaust, the American use of nuclear weapons against Japan, the terrorist bombings and attacks starting in the 1970s as well as the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria. Presumably, the perpetrators of these acts felt that they were protecting their rights by carrying out these deeds. Although most of the acts cited were instituted by state actors they nevertheless demonstrate a lack of concern for the other human beings affected. This lack of concern is facilitated by the arms-length nature of modern warfare.

A similar issue arises with individuals focusing solely on their own rights rather than their responsibility to the community as a whole.

J.T. CHRISTOPHER

Warwick