I saw a meme the other day that had this phrase, “The world doesn’t own you anything” along with a photo of a blank blank yellow pad. What I feel they were communicating was, “I don’t owe you anything,” and perhaps even further implying, “I can do whatever I want to you, and you can’t complain about it.” It comes from of place of privilege and contempt towards their fellow humans.

The history of the United States of America is the history of people standing up for their rights. A major influx of people came over from in the 16th century England and Europe escaping mistreatment. What was that mistreatment? It was a system where nobility owned all the land. The people, generation after generation, worked the land—not to provide for themselves, but to pay rents to the land owners who lived lives of relative opulence while the majority suffered. It was wildly unfair, as the landowners had control over all the rules and the majority had no rights. Additionally, many groups and individuals were not allowed to worship in the method they believed in, but were held to either the church of England, or the Catholic Church in greater Europe—both state controlled at the time.

Women and minorities have always had the worst of it. The minorities were bought, sold and traded and most women didn’t have power to choose their own partners or the power to choose to have or not have children. Most of women’s work in the home and fields was not considered worthy it to be paid for, or even acknowledged as having value. It took years to gain the rights which should have been there to begin with. Every right that we have fought for was paid in blood. Still, we have yet to fully live up to the freedom and liberty that we have strived for.

Today, I see the United States being dragged back into the Old World’s bad habits. First, is the move from individual homeownownership to corporate homeownership—a system of land owners and renters stretching from generation to generation. The second problem is the movement to make one style of religion dominate over an individual’s convictions. And the third is the loss of bodily autonomy of women.

So, what is a person owed, if anything? Every individual is owed dignity and respect of their body and person. They are owed an equal access to air, water, land and food. They are owed the opportunity and ability to provide for themselves and their families. They are owed freedom from slavery, freedom to choose their partners and reproduction, and freedom to believe in the way that they are convinced of within them.

There are responsibilities that everyone has as well. Each adult is responsible to take care of themselves and their families to the best of their ability. They are responsible to leave the world better than they received it. Finally, they are responsible to not violate the rights or dignity of others and live in harmony to the best of their ability.