Rhetoric and Civic Duty -- Third Time Lucky?

Ever noticed the frequency how often people talk about their rights and privileges as opposed to your duties and obligations? Some would place the source of this conundrum squarely upon the shoulders of politicians. I couldn't possible comment.

I regularly come across characters with the most unusual interpretations of their rights and privileges, generally vis-a-vis the hoi poloi. Self-proclaimed lawyers, constitutional experts and United Nations' Human Rights pros, they live in an amazingly pleasant fantasy world.  So, from time-to-time, I find myself on the auditory end of some real doozers. Ah, how ignorance must be bliss.

FU, courtesy amazon.ca

My favourite character is the office worker, cum self-proclaimed legal expert, who firmly believed that every day graced with a name in the Quo Vadis planner  (eg, Anzac Day) was a legal holiday. A no work for full pay day. It must have taken a good 18 months or more of daily interaction before this fantastic interpretation was revealed to me. 

Imagine! Not only could I anticipate October's Thanksgiving with relish, there'd be another one in November, courtesy of the USA! Needless to say, life didn't work out that way. What kind of person believes this stuff? As slithery House of Cards' Francis Urquhart (the great Ian Richardson), was wont to hiss, I couldn't possibly comment¹.

Potter (amazon.ca). Going postal?

Then there's Magic, the age-old solution to the imponderable. According to Henry Hitchings' The Secret Life of English: How English Became English, "influenza" spread to English via the Italian Renaissance. With no understanding of modern disease control, the flu was believed to be the result of malicious influences. Jeremy Irons' Renaissance Borgia would have understood this concept of magic and malefactors. So would Harry Potter fans. Black magic -- much more fun than accusing the modern wet-blanket germ.

A Beak Doctor.
Magic anyone?

I found similar reliance on magic from low-level vultures in the local Health Ministry pecking order to be much less understandable. Assuring me that I was protected by a magic ring, I was denied access to government mandated health services. This contemporary beak doctor was actually proud to have refused several of my kind that day. 

Flabbergasted, I dialled local medical officials (beakists?), along with number of government help lines, to grouse. Famous Grousing would have been more of a pleasure. 

Not that anyone I spoke to was flustered. In fact, I was informed that a magic-based explanation was "normal"⁵. A legitimate case of freedom of religion², insisted another person who couldn't possibly have commented further. Convinced I had been gaslighted, I contacted my MNA, a national (dis)assembler if there ever was one. I was thanked for my "precious information". You'd think I was stuck in a very bad Lord of the Rings³  loop. At least with Tolkien, most of the characters were in agreement that Gollum was bad news and not to be trusted.

Chill double bill: Gollum
& Rotund Birds Character

Despite the self-confessed lawyer and the health magician's strong showing, the Cherry on Top Award goes to a Quebec human rights expert. This enlightened⁵ individual smugly informed me of the human right regarding the illegality of filming without the consent of all characters in your viewfinder. Perhaps it was related to the magical belief that the camera captures your soul. Dangerous stuff, that.

With self-righteous zeal, I was ordered to stop filming a mid-road exercise class for immature adults⁵. Perhaps the right stems from the magical belief that a camera captures your soul. 

Silly me, I had thought my responsibility as a pedestrian was to leave the road free for automotive traffic. Conversely, that it was my right to walk on the sidewalk unimpeded by cars. Look both ways, cross at the corner and all that. I'm not talking about a city street voluntarily blocked for a game of street hockey. Nor is this a case of joggers running single file against the traffic. 

These characters⁵ were acting as if a public road was their own private gymnasium. Since when was it a human right to attempt to cause a traffic accident? 

A method guaranteed to keep life from becoming dull. Good for the economy too⁶.

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Notes

Courtesy amazon.com

¹ Michael Dobbs' fictional Francis Urquhart, MP may be best remembered for the catchphrase "You might well think that; I couldn't possibly comment." Totally self-serving, FU was a real reptilian. Not a nice guy either.

Dobbs' trilogy comprises House of Cards, To Play the King, and The Final Cut.

The 1990s miniseries (one per book) were a joy to watch. Together, the three series rank 84th in the British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes.

² Magic rings? A valid religion? Give me a break.

³ Gollum first appears in The Hobbit. His magic ring (the One Ring) had a malevolent influence. Tolkien was not pretending to write non-fiction. Gollum, once a variety of hobbit, has a habit of muttering to himself. In Tolkien's time, this was considered as an indication of madness. Today, it's generally a conversation on a cellphone.

⁴ Quebec has been described as the toughest jurisdiction in North America to practise photography.

⁵ I don't endorse the clothing, just the message. Should the links be broken, they were just T-shirts. As to the numbering, consider the comments as out of order.

⁶ Auto repair shops, insurance companies, and health professionals, for a start. 

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Books mentioned

• House of Cards trilogy: House of Cards, To Play the King, and The Final Cut
• The Secret Life of English: How English Became English
• Harry Potter series
• Lord of the Rings (trilogy)