We Got Rights

In the news lately, with some frequency, the subject of cell phones being used while driving has come up. Legislators are considering laws all over the country to ban texting or talking on the phone while driving.
I was watching the evening news and they were asking the public their opinion on the matter. The one that stuck out was one woman who opined, "They can't do that. This ain't Russia! We got rights!" I imagine she is one of the people who nearly hit me (or at least certainly someone who was unfortunate enough to cross her path) in traffic over the last few years. I can't count the number of times this has happened to or near me, usually by someone who is so oblivious to their surroundings that they are not even aware of their near mishap.
Yes, she is right, we got rights. Too many people, however, have yet to mature to the point of realizing that they are NOT, in fact, the center of the universe. Yeah, you got rights, until they infringe on someone else's, then we have a problem.
People like this are everywhere. When not driving around talking on their phones, you may have seen them in the grocery store. They are the ones who stepped in front of you while you were looking at the items on the shelf, and stood there in your way without so much as an excuse me. Common courtesy? Not necessary 'cuz they got rights!
Look at the piles of leftover food and empty wrappers in the campus center during the day. In spite of strategically placed trash cans scattered amongst the tables, many cannot be bothered with such menial tasks. You know why.
Now I'm going to shift back to the topic of my first posting for a bit. How could some of these people be expected to learn any more manners than the average stray dog? If you come from a home where both parents work fulltime, there may have been no-one there to tell you how civilized people behave. With prices these days and double the minimum wage barely adequate to pay the bills and have a moment to catch your breath, what chance is there that the situation will improve for the average working class family?
Its high time we got our country back from the banks so we could work on the little things that make our lives a little easier like manners and civility. After all, we got rights.