Who is my brother? Rights and responsibilities in the balance

The French motto of liberté, egalité, fraternité is striking in today’s world because of the sheer magnitude of its vision. No matter what your background, it relays a passion for a common goal and the betterment of our nation. It is a statement that desires a transformed society, a society of the liberated, the equal and a society comprised of brothers.

Much as it may pain some of us to learn from our Gallic neighbours, a lot is to be said for this kind of equilibrium between rights and responsibilities. In Britain, we have largely begun to address the first two aspects of France’s favourite tagline, but on one front, we are lacking and have allowed this to encroach on the areas in which we have made progress. All our progress then risks being hindered by our unwillingness to accept the idea of fraternity.

Liberté is a building block of our democracy. She is the foundation stone on which all our rights are built. She takes on various guises – freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of the press, the list goes on, but sufficed to say that she even represents the most fundamental of rights- the right to life. Nothing perhaps has untied nations so much as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These basic freedoms have inspired millions, have liberated thousands, and have stood as the firm foundation of today’s civilised nation. The idea of freedom is now very much on the cards and is one of the things around which divided nations can rally.

A famous philosopher once said, “I disagree with what you say, but I would defend to death your right to say it”. It is this sentiment that liberté evokes – a battle for and stark defence of our freedoms. Freedom’s art of discourse has been so gripping for our nation, that even the youngest can be heard to talk about their rights. She is the playmate of the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the idealist and the realist. She is the bedrock on which is built the second building block of British democracy – equality.

Our dealings with equality have been more sullied by the tyranny of the few and the greed of the elite. While all are happy to talk about freedom, a small minority, although alluding to equality, reject it in their hearts. Equality is more difficult to swallow, because she defies all rules and hierarchies from which our society emerged. She challenges the wealth of a minority and the poverty of a majority. Equality has less physical presence than liberty, but we would like to know more.

George Orwell’s wise words are as true today as the day they were written, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. This inequality of equality strikes a chord with our society today. No amount of positive discrimination has ever delivered true equality.

It has helped, it has led us to a place where we are willing to talk about equality, and indeed where that is often all we talk about. We have a Women and Equalities Minister, we have a promised Equality Bill, we have a politically correct society in which many are trying to address this issue. It is however, not a simple case of legislation, for equality is a mindset, a worldview, a fundamental belief about the dignity of man.

It is safe to say that equality is beginning to descend on the discourse of today, it is beginning to change the way we look at the world and those around us, but we have further to go before we truly live in a nation of equals. It is a difficult pill to swallow, for equality threatens to cure the poor of their poverty and rid the wealthy of their greed. But if we succeed in fully mastering this concept, equality will become the riches of the poor and the humility of the rich.

But the key to our full mastering of both liberté and egalité is to first learn to live with fraternité. Fraternité affects how we look at others, but also how we see our own role in society. It dictates that we must work towards a common good, rather than a selfish ambition, towards better communities, rather than more capital (although the two must not always be mutually exclusive), towards unity, rather than division.

Fraternité is a beacon that shines out calling us to recognise that rights must always come with responsibilities. Firstly because all our choices have consequences on the realm in which we live and on society at large.

One of the consequences of relativism, free love, disillusionment with religion and rules, is that man is becoming more anarchic and lives for himself alone, or for the small circle of trusted individuals he decides to surround himself with. Relativism dictates that we are each responsible for our own decisions and that these are of no consequence to others, but this is implausible. What is to say that the person’s decision to break the speed limit is only an individual choice? What is there that says that the banker’s decision to risk the money of the investor has no further outworking? No, we must reject the ritual of relativism that so infects much of society. While still valuing freedom of choice, we must recognise that every freedom has a function and that every liberty has a price. This price is responsibility. Every man is our brother and we have a duty towards all of them, which means that every selfish act and every ignorant word affects others.

It is impossible to say that individual decisions do not impact others because each of us has a sphere of influence which we are given charge to look after. This must then affect how we live, it must empower our actions and drive our daily lives. We cannot continue to live selfishly, as if we had no duty to those around us. It is therefore my belief that fraternité and indeed community must be the basis of our actions.

How will this work practically? We must firstly foster trust in society and in each other. Living in suspicion can no longer be allowed. We should be optimists, not pessimists. Secondly, we must learn to value the contributions of others in society, and thirdly, we must be willing to make these contributions ourselves. This is a way of life that involves self-sacrifice, but I believe it necessary to be willing to engage in this self-sacrifice, not only for the benefit of society, but also so that we can daily reflect Jesus.

The Bible calls us to present our bodies as a “living sacrifice” (Romans), and this sacrifice to God also encompasses sacrifices made for other people. So whether these sacrifices manifest themselves in time, money or friendship, this is how we can attempt to love our neighbour.

Fraternité involves collective progress, community focus and a common vision. We have a renewed chance to give to others and to foster a feeling of brotherhood, to not be that person on the tube who stares mindlessly ahead ignoring those around them, to not be the one who walks by the homeless without the smallest feeling of guilt, to not be the one who accepts children still living in poverty.

Through our politics, we can try to affect these things and show our compassion for others, and through our everyday lives, we can build up communities that are stronger because of combined effort. On this then rests our ability to strive for real freedom and equality. When we can learn to value our brothers and work for a common good, hearts and mindsets will change. And so to the question, who is my brother? He is the man next door, the woman on the bus, the starving child in Africa. To each of these, we owe our love and sacrifice. This is what I believe will truly change society, doing what legislation alone cannot do and what democracy can only aspire to.