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No One Has Any Obligation

2 days ago4 min read

By Frank Weber

Copyright ©2025

 

When my oldest daughter was getting ready to strike out and head to college, I could only think of one bit of advice to offer her…


“You can go anywhere and do anything in this world that you want to do.

If it makes you happy, that’s all you’ll ever need, BUT remember this one thing…

If you choose to do something outside the ‘societal norm’ remember that no one else in this world has any obligation to understand, like or respect you or what you do. Don’t ever let nasty, rude or ignorant comments and people stop you, just be courteous and keep in mind that no one else is obligated. There’s only one person that matters and that person is you. A lot of what you do in life, you may well have to do on your own and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just don’t expect everyone to agree. You’ll be a happier person for it.”

 

I’ve only ever wanted my daughters to be as happy in their lives as they possibly could be.

The larger part of happiness is the success of feeling good about your life and I want that happiness for them.

 

I also believe it’s just as important to impress upon them the fact that no one else is required to understand what makes them happy or to even respect it. That’s pretty much evident in this world, more so it seems, in recent days. When you labor over whether-or-not everyone around you offers the ‘proper respect for your feelings’, you push yourself farther away from happiness…you’ll forever be searching for someone else’s validation rather than living your own life the way you want.

 

You have to remember that you are not going to change the world by just ‘wanting’ it to change and screaming and crying and stomping your feet if it doesn’t. You can change your world by living it. The more you live it, the more it becomes the ‘norm’.

You’d be surprised just how effective that really can be.

 

It's called being prepared to ‘agree to disagree’, especially when it comes to your own well-being.

 

Just take a look around you right now. How many times does a simple disagreement devolve into screams and slurs? All because one person wants to live a certain way and just CANNOT FATHOM that the world around them does not accept it as they do. So, instead of saying, “I don’t care if you don’t agree, it makes me happy’, they scream incessantly about respect and bigotry and close-mindedness.

 

I call BULLSHIT on that one.

 

I don’t care how anyone else lives their life.

I don’t care what anyone else does for fun and kicks and kinks.

I don’t care who anyone is – or more to the point – who anyone else thinks they are, ‘cause it doesn’t matter to me.

 

Sure, it’s always more fun for everyone if we all have similar wants, but that’s rarely the case.

 

If you want to be happy and live a fun and successful life, then quit worrying so much about what everyone else thinks about what it is that makes you happy!

It really is that simple.

 

I owe my children every aid and assist I can give them to help them to one day live on their own…and do it with success.

 

I don’t owe anyone else anything.

I don’t owe an apology to anyone who is arbitrarily offended by a t-shirt or a Facebook post or any off-color comment or joke I make.

I certainly show respect for my fellow man and I never stretch out in any deliberate attempt to offend anyone. Quite honestly, I don’t believe for a second that very many folks actually do that.

And if my explaining that point infuriates you, perhaps it’s time to ask yourself ‘why’.

 

No, I don’t owe anyone else anything.

 

Feelings get hurt all the time.

Screaming and attempting to talk over people won’t buff out your dented feelings.

Grow up and live your life.

Are you happy in the way you live your life and do you feel good about it?

Yes? Then good! You’re already there.

 

Point is, you will never change my mind by screaming at me that I am disrespectful and a bigot if I had my own opinion and disagreed with what makes you happy.

All you do is push everyone else farther away from you with every venomous spit.

 

Live your best life! Live it ‘til you die!

 

But don’t ever think that I am obliged in any way to accept or respect or cow-tow to you for how you live your life. No one is THAT special…not a one of us.

To believe otherwise is exceedingly arrogant.

 

So, I think it’s worth repeating…

“You can go anywhere and do anything in this world that you want to do.

If it makes you happy, that’s all you’ll ever need, BUT remember this one thing…

If you choose to do something outside the ‘societal norm’ remember that no one else in this world has any obligation to understand, like or respect you or what you do. Don’t ever let nasty, rude or ignorant comments and people stop you, just be courteous and keep in mind that no one else is obligated. There’s only one person that matters and that person is you. A lot of what you do in life, you may well have to do on your own and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just don’t expect everyone to agree. You’ll be a happier person for it.”


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