Where do we get our rights from?

Post Reply New Topic

Do they come from humanity, government, or are they inalienable?

I personally believe that our "inalienable rights" come from our western culture.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Our rights come from the edge of a blade and the barrel of a gun.

ruveyn

Yes, and even if "God" is doing the bearing of either.

That's an apples and oranges question.

The first two possibilities address source, and the third addresses abridgement.

If you adopt a classic liberal stants towards rights, then you have to understand three concepts:

1) source
2) recognition
3) abridgement

Classical liberalism suggests that some rights come from, "natural law," that is to say that they are inherent aspects of human beings even when no government structure exists to recognize, enforce or abridge rights. The right to life is typically the centrepiece of such a conception of rights (although some posit--I include myself amonth them--that there is no right to life in natural law). The right to freedom of thought, belief and opinion is, to my mind, the most clearly natural right.

Still other rights emerge from long standing social practice--the right to freedom of association. Still others are expressly the artificial creation of government--the right to a speedy trial by jury, the right to be free from double jeopardy.

But source and recognition is, frankly, not an important part of civil liberties jurisprudence. The issue is that government has the power to abridge almost any right, and almost every right is abridged to some extent. The issue isn't whether my right to life has its origin in natural law, or is a creation of the Charter. The only important issues are whether the actions of government are abridging that right, whether the abridgement is reasonable limit on my right that is demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society, and the governments respect for the rule of law.

But could not those gun barrels and blades be used to take away our rights?

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Indeed. Weapons can be used in a number of ways. However there is no gene in the human genome labeled "I got rights".

ruveyn

Indeed. Don't forget the nukes

Thats why if you figure your a good and peace-loving person its all the more reason to be very good with both; you love peace and they'll take it away over your cold dead body.

This brings to mind one of my favorite quotes, from Aristophanes:

Yet, certainly, the wise learn many things from their enemies; for caution preserves all things. From a friend you could not learn this, but your foe immediately obliges you to learn it. For example, the states have learned from enemies, and not from friends, to build lofty walls, and to possess ships of war. And this lesson preserves children, house, and possessions.

Yep. Speak softly and carry a biiiiggggggggg gat.

Yes they can, so ultimately our rights come from our ability to protect them. It doesn't always require guns or knives. A person can have rights without having guns or knives, he is granted rights by birth or by age, and society determines whether he may keep them, by respect and a code of values.

For instance if you are deemed mentally insane, society will prohibit you from owning a gun. If you get a DUI, you will be stripped of your right to drive without consequence. You may still get a gun if you are insane however, and you may drive a car without a license, provided of course, that you don't get caught.

I forgot as well that we occasionally gain a right from three lefts.

Well driving is considered a privilege, while bearing arms are considered a right.

I don't know what criteria you use to distinguish the two.