So how would you define rights, then? If government doesn't grant you rights, then what organization would actually be qualified to do that?
Or should we just say rights don't exist then? Because if anybody was to grant you rights, it would automatically imply that they have the power to take them away
Below is an excerpt from the article linked in my signature. It relates to the 2nd Amendment and therefore is U.S. - centric, but I believe the concepts still apply to this thread.
Natural Rights
And do you also understand that the Bill of Rights is not the source of our rights. Its not even a complete list of our rights.
What are you talking about? I asked.
Macs losing it, Bill said and threw his arms up.
Im asking you if you understand that we do not get our rights from the Bill of Rights.
Of course we do, Bill said. Thats why they wrote the Bill of Rights.
Ive got to agree with Bill, I said.
Dave said nothing. He seemed to be thinking.
Im saying this because the Founding Fathers did not believe we got our rights from the Bill of Rights. Nor did they believe they came about as a result of being American, Christian, of European decent, or white. They believed everyone had these rights even if they lived in Europe, China, or the moon. They called them Natural Rights. Where these rights were not allowed, they believed they still existed but were denied.
You should be writing fiction, Bill said.
Well, its a question as to whether or not our rights exist apart from government, Mac said. Let me ask you this, he said to Bill. In a country where children have no civil rights, do they still have a right not to be molested? Do women in countries where they have a second-citizen status have the right not to be abused by their husbands, even if the government wont protect them?
Bill didnt answer.
Then is it too much of a stretch for you to understand that the Founding Fathers believed everyone has the right to free speech, freedom of religion, the right to fair trials...? His voice trailed off.
Bill still wouldnt answer.
In other words, Dave said, its a question as to whether the rights of the citizens in China are at the pleasure of the government or if they have them but are being denied, or if the Jews had basic human rights in Germany even if Hitler didnt let them exercise them?
Yes. All I want to know is if thats hard for you to see. He looked at Bill who was still silent.
Then I see what youre saying, Dave said, But Im not sure how it relates to the 2nd Amendment.
Bill still said nothingbut neither did I.
Take it a step further. If the government passed a law tomorrow that said we didnt have the right to free speech, or the right to free worship, or freedom of the press, would those rights no longer exist, or would they be simply denied? If the Constitution is amended depriving us of our rights, do those rights cease to exist?
Whats the answer? Dave asked Mac.
The answer, according to the guys who set up this country, is yes, we would still have those rights. Were just being denied them. Because of that, its the way we have to look at the Constitution.
Bill rubbed his nose.
Dave said, Okay, I never thought of it that way, but Ill buy into it for a moment.
It may be, Mac said, that in reality, rights are a figment of our imagination. But the Founding Fathers believed they existed and thats how this country was set up. Rights are something that come with being human. The Founders never believed we got them from the government. If and when the United States goes away, the rights will still be there.
