Thursday, September 9, 2010

The Origin of Rights

The first question I was asked as I started collecting signatures to run for borough assembly was "What is your platform?"  I didn't quite know how to answer the question and started fumbling over my words talking about smaller government and lower taxes.  It became very clear that I had to think through my answer to that question!

See, I'm not a politician and I didn't come into this election with specific agendas and issues I'm seeking to debate in the way we are used to the political arena working.  Rather, I see myself as a statesman seeking good government based on principled action and the protection of rights envisioned by our American Founding Fathers.  When understood, those principles can be applied to any issue.  I don't think assembly members need to find issues to debate; I think they need to apply correct principles to solving issues that arise.  Principled government is my platform.

One of the most basic principles we can understand is that of the origin of our rights.  The Declaration of Independence states:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
I could write post after post discussing all the principles and meanings behind this one partial paragraph, but we're going to focus on a specific section and save the rest for later: 
"...that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...."  
I think we have a fair understanding of what the language used means, but do we understand how to apply that knowledge?  Sometimes, it seems we become confused or forget the application of that simple phrase.  It states that our rights were given to us by our Creator and that they are "unalienable" (inalienable) which Mirriam-Webster's online dictionary says means:
: incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred
That one phrase actually says quite a bit!  Our rights were given to us by our Creator and they cannot be transferred or surrendered.  Let me break that down into two basic principles.

First, the rights belong to the people themselves and were given by our Creator.  We may have different views of our Creator, but it is clear here that they are NOT saying our rights were given to us by Government.  This belief of Governemnt-granted rights has been seen throughout history and, though perhaps not immediately recognized, is permiating law-making at present.  Why is this distinction so important?  Because if you permit that rights are granted by government, then you must also permit that government can then take away those rights.  In such an instance we are as slaves, left to do the bidding of our master in hopes of gaining greater favor. 

Second, the people can choose to vest the government with the protection of these rights, but not surrender or transfer them.  At first glance that may seem contradictory, but the word "vest" does not mean "to give away" or "cede" our rights.  When we vest our rights upon another person or entity, we still have ownership and authority, we are simply delegating some of our authority to be used in our behalf by someone else...in this case, government.  Here is an analogy I've heard that clarifies the distiction between vesting and ceding rights:

Imagine you own a store and as owner, you have the right to sell goods for money.  But you're a busy person so you hire a cashier to man the till.  You have now vested your right or authority of accepting money in exchange for your goods to this cashier.  You could still work the till yourself, you haven't given that right away, but you've allowed someone else to act on your behalf.   Much like this example, we authorize our government to act upon our authority (to protect our lives, property, etc), but that does not mean they can take home the cash register!

The cash register, the rights, are ours.  We've vested them to government, and as the above quote from the Declaration of Independence states,
"...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
The wise, inspired men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America knew and understood these principles. They sought to protect our rights. As we see a need for change in our government we don't have to start over and we don't need to figure out something new --the work has already been done for us. We simply must return to the principles of good governement these valliant men fought for. The more we stray from the correct principles of government that they taught, the more we lose control of our rights and that is a dangerous, slippery slope.
Freedom is our heritage and if we are to keep it, we must understand the principles upon which it was achieved.  It isn't enough to know; we must act.

1 comment:

  1. "we authorize our government to act upon our authority (to protect our lives, property, etc), but that does not mean they can take home the cash register!"

    Hahaha! I laughed out loud on that one!

    ReplyDelete