A debt you don't owe

What do humans owe each other? Lots of clashing claims get thrown around, but most of them are complete nonsense.

You don't automatically owe others housing, medical care, safety, or food. Not without a prior, mutually consensual, agreement.

Recently, I've seen more and more claims saying "we" also owe each other respect.

There is only one kind of respect you owe others, and it is very specific.

You are obligated-- you owe it-- to respect the natural, equal, and identical human rights of every individual. Not a generalized "respect". You can't owe something that hasn't been earned by a consensual agreement or by a debt your actions created.

You owe it to others to not violate their life, liberty, or property-- including by trying to prevent them from securing those things for themselves. Your primary responsibility is, always has been and always will be, to not archate-- this is how you show the respect you actually owe to others. You owe it to them to not stand in their way of providing housing, medical care, safety, food, or respect for themselves.

But respect for their opinions? Nope.
Respect based on the color of their skin, their sex, their sexual proclivities, their culture, or their political/religious beliefs? Nope, again.

You owe others respect for their human right to be who they are, as long as they don't seek to use government violence to impose themselves and their opinions on you. 

The quickest way to show yourself unworthy of even that level of respect is to try to force others to give you "respect"-- or else the State will use violence against them on your behalf.

Don't be guilted into taking on a debt that isn't yours. You owe what you owe, and not a bit more.

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