Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

Responsibilities are as Important as Rights

There is a very close relationship between a person’s rights and his responsibilities. Rights are privileges while the responsibilities are duties; therefore, most of the people are inclined towards the attitude of shouting for their rights all the times but do not have an inclination towards identifying their responsibilities as well and feel liable to perform them. There are only few cases wherein people can be found to be responsible without insistence from the society or the socio-political conditions. In many cases, there are strict rules and regulations and norms and values that play the role of memorizing the people about their responsibilities. Nevertheless, in order to have a balanced society, it is important that the individuals must also identify and realize their responsibilities when they demand their rights.
A society can never be run, if it has only to fulfill the rights of people. In fact, the rights of some people in many cases are ensured when other people perform their responsibilities. Therefore, it is a both way process. Both need to be carried out simultaneously to ensure balance within the society. Active members of the society who are the real agents of change and development are basically the ones who recognize their responsibilities along with their rights and also have the courage to perform them. An analysis of the socio-political conditions of the developed countries would show that their people are far more responsible and that is the reason of their development and progress.
However, the people in our society are very much lethargic and even incognizant regarding their responsibilities. Since there were many aid agencies and support that are provided to the people that are mostly directed towards helping the people of their short-term troubles instead of providing them the means of earning for themselves, the situation has gotten worse. Now, every individual believes that he deserves that aid money or support in some way or the other without having to perform his duties. This concept of seeking for others’ help every time has made our people shun their responsibilities. Nobody feels that it the responsibility of the Afghan people as a whole to rise to the occasion and extract themselves out of the troubles by depending on their own strengths and potentials.  
Every person in the hierarchy of the society tries to avoid responsibility and when there are problems and issues as a result, he separates himself from them and put the blame on others. This is particularly the case with the politicians within our society. Being posted on important positions, they should feel more responsibility and must ensure that they lead others as example. Since, there is a saying that with great power comes great responsibility. But, such a notion is not part of our society at all. The ruling elite is not responsible to anyone, not even to the law. What they are practicing nowadays regarding the prevailing insecurity and many other social problems is nothing except blame game. 
In fact, the major problem in this regard lies within the institutional nourishment. In our society the children are not nourished with a sense of true responsibility. As they grow up, they do not seem to realize what their responsibilities are towards their fellow human beings and towards their society. Mostly, they are taught to fulfill certain responsibilities which are limited to their individual lives. Same is the case within the educational institutions. Currently, in most of the educational institutions there is a race for degree and a blind competitions to secure better marks so that the students should be able to find a lucrative job and settle somewhere secure and peaceful. Through such nourishment, the individuals fail to connect to their social circumstances. They do not seem to realize how they fit within a society and what their responsibilities are as responsible citizens. That is why our whole society has become an amalgam of alienated individuals whose goals are to pursue their own motives. They seem to fear responsibility and that is one of the worst things to do as a social being.
It is important to remember that rights bring responsibility, and the responsibility makes you accountable and accountability sees no blame. Passing the buck would never solve the problem. The responsibility would keep on being transferred to others and would never reach to the stage of realization.
Definitely, all the members of the society must perform their responsibilities but the leaders of the nation must be the trend setters. They need to set examples for others by performing their responsibilities without any sort of negligence. The governments that realize their responsibilities and do not fall short of providing the people their rights are mostly appreciated and at the same time supported by their people. People, finding the governments and leaders, responsible citizens tend to do the same and thus lend a hand in the development of the country.