A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Humans are arguably the most selfish creatures to inhabit this planet. Our quest to satiate our unquenchable greed is quite well documented. In our pursuit of materialistic goals, we have done irreparable damage to not just the world we live in, but also to our fellow men. We leave no stone unturned in ensuring that our own interests are upheld at all costs – even at that of others. In fact, so obsessed are we with accumulating stuff in the name of fulfilling our trivial interests that we often overlook what we truly need.
Take, for example, a man who would rather pay weekly visits to the court to get a favorable verdict in a long-standing family feud over some piece of property than raise their voice for something like, say, human rights, equality or democracy. For them, such ‘rights’ are something that do not concern them at all, hence they see no need for them to endorse these. However, human nature tells us that we tend to take things for granted – particularly things that come easy to us, things that we have never truly valued in life.
It must be clarified here that there is nothing wrong about standing up for oneself and protecting their interests, so long as those interests do not start taking precedence over our rights. Paying attention to what affects us indirectly, or our rights, is as important as defending the things that have a direct impact on us, which is precisely what our interests are. That is arguably the key to a balanced, happy life.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a renowned French military leader. He was known for his fearlessness and open-mindedness in an age where free thinking was not commonplace. His following quote is relevant to the matter at hand: “A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.”