"Desire is a distraction from duty..."

Many people argue about duty and what is involved in maintaining the expectations placed by it. Some say that if one has a duty, it should be simple to accomplish any requirements. As they are set by the duty, they must simply be completed one by one. It's a commitment, and therefore should be easy to follow through with. Others believe that even if one has a duty, it is very difficult to maintain. Some contribute it to procrastination, others laziness, but either way it takes a lot of will power. I believe that fulfilling any duty requires a large amount of motivation, like interest or desire.

In Dust by Elizabeth Bear one of the main characters, Perceval, believes that she should not be allowed to feel or give in to desire. She believes, "Desire is a distraction from duty". Although I can understand how desire, or any strong emotion or feeling of need, could distract from the requirements of duty in some situations, I believe that desire can actually aid in upholding duties. For example, a mother has a duty to protect and provide for her children. If she had no desire to do so, or felt anything toward her children at all, it would be very hard for her to want to attend to her duties.

I believe that desire is a strong motivator for accomplishing any tasks or requirements. In school I've found that I really have to push myself to complete any assignments or expectations if I'm not interested in or care about the class. In turn, if I have the desire to accomplish something, like volunteer to help people, it becomes rewarding and almost fun to put forth extra effort. Therefore, I've found that desire is an essential to maintaining a duty of any kind.