Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Outside Obligations are unilateral contracts made about you but in which you were not given a chance to negotiate; for example, church established ethics and morals, and “Ask Heloise” type manners fall into this category. Out of personal courtesy, you may even adhere to these informal social dictates, but the demands can quickly become much greater: church tithing, charities, tipping, union dues; and those are just the monetary burdens. Social obligations can be the most burdensome: fraternal organizations like Rotary or Lion's Club are a breeding ground for onerous shame, guilt & time-wasting.

But all of those outside obligations have a component of voluntarism, however ineffectual; the most egregious exploitation of outside obligations comes from the world, other countries that practice Socialism and can’t understand why U.S. citizens won’t do “what's best for everyone,” in their estimation anyway: stop using energy, stop supporting Israel, increase international aid. The widening rift between the American citizenry and the EU country citizens has it’s genesis in these foreign imposed obligations. Societal expectations, values, ethics, morals, customs, courtesy, manners, and all other outside obligations are the slippery slope leading to authoritarianism, but the world without them would be scary indeed.