Rights Versus Responsibilities

The following 3 documents provide some interesting and revealing ways in which personal rights are described and claimed by various well known and reputable groups.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( http://web.amnesty.org/pages/aboutai-udhr-eng )
Canadian Bill of Rights, (http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/C-12.3/225394.html#rid-225395) and The American Constitution.

Searching around the internet reveals many other less well known or reputable groups interpretations of what these rights mean to them. ex) http://sixthcolumn.blogspot.com/2005/03/rights-versus-responsibilities.html

Human Rights in Islam http://www.religlaw.org/interdocs/docs/cairohrislam1990.htm

From a Christian perspective I don't believe we have any inalienable claim to human rights. All the above examples were documented by specific groups at specific times and all within the last 200 years. I would argue that at a very basic level

Rights are socially accepted self interest. And inalienable rights are self interests bestowed on oneself.

Our responsibilities on the other hand are 1) loving God with all our heart, soul and mind and 2) loving others as ourself.

In short, until I can can find the means to explain my thoughts on this issue, I will leave the following simple thought: "rights are to responsibilities as fairness is to truth"