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I hope we are not content just accepting what is, but strive for what ought to be.
I do too.
But I will not be sanguine until we abandon the idea that any rights are "natural" or revealed by god. Until we take full responsibility for our moral systems and our moral choices we will be forever victim to the righteous despot that delivers to us atrocity under the pretense that it is the will of God.
Natural rights are rights which are derived from nature. They are universal;
that is, they apply to all people, and do not derive from the laws of any
specific society. They exist necessarily, inhere in every individual, and can't
be taken away. For example, it has been argued that humans have a natural right to life. They're sometimes called moral rights or inalienable rights.
Legal rights, in contrast, are based on a society's customs, laws, statutes
or actions by legislature. An example of a legal right is the right to vote of
citizens. Citizenship, itself, is often considered as the basis for having legal
rights, and has been defined as the "right to have rights". Legal rights are
sometimes called civil rights or statutory rights and are culturally and
politically relative since they depend on a specific societal context to have meaning.
That is the best definition of the distinction between the two that I've read on these pages anywhere.
But I will add, that natural rights are not immutable but are subject as subject to change and more importantly the result of philosophical evolution which must ultimately become incorporated in civil law.
But I will not be sanguine until we abandon the idea that any rights are "natural" or revealed by god. Until we take full responsibility for our moral systems and our moral choices we will be forever victim to the righteous despot that delivers to us atrocity under the pretense that it is the will of God.
What is god, like what ought be, is different to different people. The one thing I hope people would believe is that their right to life and liberty is not because of the will of other people but more important than that.
God or higher power, or faith in something that is beyond is not always a bad thing. It is all in context. The "will of god" has been misused that yes, had people being a tyranny over others. But the will of "the people" can be misused just as much.
The best thing going so far, is law in place to prevent us from forcing ourselves on each other when there is disagreement or when one decides for themself that they are right and that the end justifies the means by legislating or enforcing forcefully. It isn't 100% but.........
Problems occur when a part of the population believes something to be a right and the rest of the population doesn't.
The latest examples are health care and collective bargaining.
Problems occur when a part of the population believes something to be a right and the rest of the population doesn't.
The latest examples are health care and collective bargaining.
Well "the problem" is one that is perpetual because conceptions of rights is an ever evolving one, a process that is as old as humanity and will remain so.
Well "the problem" is one that is perpetual because conceptions of rights is an ever evolving one, a process that is as old as humanity and will remain so.
That's right. Human rights, and all of its subsets of rights (civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, Muslim rights, victims' rights, travelers' rights, workers' rights are all a fabrication of the left in order to divide us up into victim groups and pit us against one another. Examples of said rights, also known as positive rights are things like the right to food, clothing, shelter, health care, transportation, education, unionization/collective bargaining, minimum wage, etc.
The only rights you have are natural rights, that is the right to life, liberty, and property in order to pursue happiness. You as an individual are endowed with these rights, not by your government, but by God, and your natural rights are to be secured by the government. Positive rights require action on behalf of the government in order to be bestowed upon you, that action being taking from person a in order to give to person b, thereby infringing upon person a's natural rights. You have the right to purchase things, no doubt about that, but you don't have a right to them because they require another's labor. The role of the government is to secure one's natural rights, not bestow positive rights upon individuals. This is the basis of the rule of law, upon which our nation was founded.
Barlow, can the government ask citizens to sacrify their lives? That negates the "right to life" and you also cannot pursue happiness if you are dead, neither use your "hard earned money"...
Jefferson chose the words "their creator" carefully.
It was so not to alienate any religion, or those who didn't believe in a creator. Thats why its "their" creator.
At any point, the Declaration of Independence isn't an official United States document.
The US Supreme Court ruled that the vague, nebulous term "god" does not constitute establishment of an official religion because "god" could mean Brahma, Allah, Buddha, Jesus, YHWH, Jupiter, Mithra, Osirus, Ahura Mazda, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Santa Claus, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Mahavira, etc.
Not really has the are backed up by laws vote for by the representative of the voters. The constitution gives rights of its own.That include other rights beside human rights to include property rights etc that are enforced by the courts same as individual rights, Even the law againist rape is a law enforcing human rights as with all others.Otehr wise the only rights you have are what you can enforce really by force.
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