How many times have you heard “You’re violating my rights!” or “I have rights!” in the last week? Let me guess… you also just rolled your eyes having to read that, didn’t you?
Yeah, I get it. Everyone screams about how their rights are being violated. But there are a few things most people either forget or overlook in the midst of the bravado.
- Your rights STOP where someone else’s rights begin. That is to say, you are allowed to live your life the way you see fit… as long as it doesn’t interfere with someone else living their life the way they see fit. It’s a little fuzzier than that but if you use that mentality as a guide, you can easily leave room for mutual respect.
- Just because you don’t agree with something that happened or don’t like how it made you feel doesn’t mean your rights were actually violated.
- Just because someone potentially committed an illegal act does not mean that their behavior technically violated your rights.
- Yes you have rights… but so does everyone else… and no, you can’t violate their rights with your behavior either.
So as you navigate this world, if you exercise a modicum of decency and a pinch of grace, you will find your journey much more peaceful.