Defining A Right In America

By Robert F. Babcock    Revised 12/21/2009

The definition of a right has to be clearly stated.  We begin life with our human nature, that is, we our born with our bodies and minds. The physical and mental abilities we are born with emanate from our nature. In order to survive in the world we must use our physical and mental abilities. Therefore a right is defined as all necessary actions an individual must take to assure survival as long as those actions do not interfere with another’s right.

Rights include, the right to life, the right to think, the right to speak, the right to move across territories, the right to food and water, the right to have children, the right to private property, the right to the defense of ourselves and our family. We are born in a state of helplessness, poverty and ignorance. Children need parents to exercise their natural rights so that parents can teach them how to rise out of this natural condition.

These rights can be called natural rights since they are derived from our human nature.

Natural rights pertain to each individual. They do not come from any other person or from government. No one has to do anything to grant each individual these rights. They come from our nature. They come from God.

The term it is my right is often used loosely. Some think that owning a home is a right or that having healthcare is a right. In general, many believe that they ought to have a right to a product or service because many others have them.

Many believe that since a large number of people have these products or services they should have the right to them as well. There are those who believe that a right should exist because it makes “sense” to them, such as a right to drive a vehicle or a right to have quiet in a library. These self declared rights are not necessary for survival and therefore are not rights.

 Generally, we do not have a right to own a product but we do have a right to purchase a product if we can afford to pay for it with our own money.

Government cannot give us our rights because they come from nature or from God. The role of government should be to protect our rights.

Government running healthcare is not protecting our rights. It is imposing their ever changing definition of a right.  Government run healthcare requires every taxpayer to pay the insurance premium. Declaring a right that requires one citizen to pay in time or in money for another citizen to have that right is not a right at all,  it is imposing servitude or slavery.

COPYRIGHT 2009 Robert Babcock

All rights reserved