Rights mean responsibilities
From Mr Stephen Ashurst Sir: With almost dreary regularity, Mark Steyn repeats each week the standard 'my rights' mantra of the conservative naif (`The grapes of wrath', 15/22 December). He then links arms with George W. Bush and rounds it all up with a quivering declaration of 'It's you and me against the world. baby.'
Mr Steyn has, like the Republican administration enthroned in Washington, closed his mind to the larger world, forgetting that we are all entitled to rights, but we must also bear the responsibilities these incur, otherwise the whole system collapses. In fact, the responsibilities come first. Indeed, 2001 will be sadly remembered in history as the year the American empire began to
unravel — and with foot soldiers like Mr Steyn you can see why: timid, bitter, paranoid and small-town, his regular analyses only show how bankrupt the Right is of ideas that connect beyond the diminishing aegis of the US.
Stephen Ash urst
London NW3
Previous page
