The abuse of the phrase, “No one owes you anything,” has made our society cold and cruel.
We live in a world of entitlement, which unfortunately has made us selfish and unaware of others.
Some people think the solution is to remind people, “No one owes you anything.” Maybe that’s true when you’re complaining about how the professor didn’t give you an A when you turned in C grade work.
It is not true when people with disabilities are upset they do not have the accommodations they need to live as everyone else does.
“No one owes you anything,” in response to a young woman who is upset and wants respect in her retail job is not true.
It’s astonishing how quickly we write off the plights of others as insignificant because they supposedly aren’t owed anything.
We do owe each other something. It’s called human decency, and over the past few years, it seems like it’s disappeared.
I recently saw a thread of comments on X (formerly Twitter) complaining about how cashiers attempt small talk.
“No, because when they start asking questions after ‘How are you,’ I get mad,” one user said.
Human decency seems even more of a foreign idea when it comes to retail workers. It’s as if they are merely robots who only exist to serve customers.
Your local craft store worker has been on their feet for eight hours. Maybe they do want a genuine human interaction for once. I get it, you’re tired. So are they.
It’s not fair to label the world as inherently cruel and selfish when we directly contribute to that culture by saying, “No one owes you anything.”
Do you ignore elderly women who stumble because their balance is not as good as it used to be? Do you ignore someone lost on campus? Are they simply not your problem because you are not indebted to them or helping them has no reward?
What will you say when you or your loved ones are those people? Will you be owed something then?
Going through life with a transactional mindset will only make you numb to how beautiful the human experience can be.
I’m not saying you should just give your credit card to strangers on the street for Christmas. However, I am saying we should stop assuming the worst about people and remember the importance of empathy.
I do owe you something. I owe you my patience and human respect because it is your first time alive just as much as it is mine.
Not everyone you will meet during your holiday travels will be fortunate enough to return to a warm house, food, and presents under a tree.
This holiday season, be kind to others and consider giving back to your local community if you have the means.
“The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they’re alive.” – Orlando Aloysius Battista
Saying that you “owe it” makes it sound as if you don’t have a choice in the matter, which undercuts the whole argument.
I believe we owe each human decency because no one was asked to be put on this earth. That’s my opinion, and an opinion is not inherently an argument; it’s merely a statement not based on facts. Everyone has the autonomy to be unkind to retail workers, people with disabilities, and those who are less unfortunate. However, if anyone wants to make their life better, they should probably choose a better option than cruelness.