Unalienable Rights, Not A Government Gift - Commentary by Frank Gillispie

Unalienable Rights, Not A Government Gift – Commentary by Frank Gillispie 1/13/10

Let me explain something to you. You have no “Constitutional” rights. The Constitution does not grant rights. It only preserves and protects your natural rights.

Anyone who has ever studied the origins of our American system of government should know that. It is clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

The Declaration defines the Creator by the phrase, "The Laws of Nature and Nature's God."

The position taken by our founders was that the rights of man, all men together and each man (or woman) individually is a product of this natural law. Natural law exist outside of governments of any kind, and they belong to all humans, regardless of what type of government they live under.

Consider this: If any government agency or man made document was the grantor of our rights as humans, that same or a similar government or document could just as easily take them away. But our rights under Natural Law are unalienable, meaning that no human power has the authority to deny or interfere with those rights. Your natural rights can only be denied if they do damage to the rights of other people.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have..." ---President Gerald R. Ford, from address to a joint session of Congress on August 12, 1974.

You have a natural right to enjoy the profits of your labor. When you go out and work to earn money for the use of yourself and your family. No one has a natural right to take that money and give it to someone who prefers to live "on the government dole."

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." ---Thomas Jefferson

You see, your rights are coupled with your responsibility. You have the right to enjoy any lifestyle you choose, as long as you exercise the responsibility to earn the money to pay for it.

When you take the product of your neighbor’s labor for your own use without giving him fair value in return, you are a thief. It does not matter if you break into his house and steal the money from his wallet, or have a government bureaucrat do it for you. You are still abusing your neighbor of his right to freely enjoy the product of his labor.

Now, Natural Law requires all of us to assist those who are unable to care for themselves. And I know of very few people who are not willing to do just that. I am happy to provide any assistance I can to anyone who truly needs my help. But I resent having the fruit of my labor taken from my by force, including excessive taxes, to support people who make no effort to provide for themselves.

Our government is on an ever expanding track to take from the rich (those who work to support themselves and their families) and give to the poor (those who sit on their couches in front of their big TV waiting for everything to be given to them). And the current programs being crammed through congress at this time add dramatically to that abuse of our natural rights to keep for our own use the money we earn.

No wonder our nation is once again rising up in rebellion.

The American Ideal of 1776: The Twelve Basic American Principles

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"Property must be secured, or liberty cannot exist." --John Adams, "Discourses on Davila," 1790

". . . our wish . . . is, that . . . [there be maintained] . . . that state of property, equal or unequal, which results to every man from his own industry, or that of his fathers." --Thomas Jefferson, from Second Inaugural Address, 3/04/1805
"And as Reason tells us, all are born thus naturally equal, i.e., with an equal Right to their Persons; so also with an equal Right to their Preservation; and therefore to such Things as Nature affords for their Subsistence . . . [Each Man entitled to the fruits of his labor] . . . Thus every Man having a natural Right to (or being the Proprietor of) his own Person and his own Actions and Labour and to what he can honestly acquire by his Labour, which we call Property; it certainly follows, that no Man can have a Right to the Person or Property of another . . . [and a Man has a right to defend his property]" --Rev. Elisha Williams, from "A Seasonable Plea .... ", 1744