Rights Have Reasons

Most of the ideas that we think of as "Rights" are political. That means that they have been established by a consensus of the society we live in. When we* designed those "Rights", we had specific purposes in mind.

One simple example is the "Freedom of Religion". Our recent ancestors had endured a series of religious wars from 1518 through 1651. The experience of lethal intrusions of politics into religion and religion into politics was enough to convince reasonable men to insulate each from the other.

The recent experience in the health care arena, where we began an approach to universal health financing (the ACA), followed by the concerted efforts to prevent universal coverage, has led many to insist that there is or should be a "Right" to healthcare. This will only come about if it can be shown that there is a good REASON for the RIGHT.

Another compelling argument for the view of "Rights" as a political decision is the recent uproar over the "Freedom of Speech" as applied to Nazis, to the KKK, and to white supremacists in general. We* have determined through many years of experience that government and government-affiliated bodies must not restrict the voicing of points of view, regardless of how repugnant they may be. It is only when "voicing" crosses the line into "incitement" or malice (falsely shouting "fire" in a crowded theater), that the authority of our society needs to step in.

Now, how does this apply to individual citizens or crowds? It doesn't. Anne Coulter complaining that her "freedom of speech" is violated when a notoriously left-wing group of students won't listen politely to her extreme right-wing provocations is silly. She has a nation-wide bullhorn through her books and through right-wing media to spread her point of view much further than any crowd of college students could ever hope for. The Nazis who canceled their march in Boston because their views weren't going to be shown the proper courtesy? Instead of condemning the people there for failure to show reverence toward "freedom of speech", let's applaud the good people of Boston for showing their decency and resisting actual evil.

Our democratic republic has been formed through two centuries of elections, legislation, court rulings, and the constantly reported history of them. Neither liberalism nor conservatism formed us. We have melded the two over the centuries to develop both the rights and responsibilities that are needed for a functioning society. We* are not finished; we may never be finished. As long as we keep the needs and desires of ALL Americans as the center of our ideals, we will be a better nation tomorrow than we were yesterday. Whether you are a liberal or a conservative, that should be your aim as a citizen.

Like every other aspect of our society's authority structures (AKA "Government"), our "Rights" need to be molded over time with a liberal view to the future and a conservative respect for the past.

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* "We": Throughout this article, the plural pronoun refers to the same collective as it does in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. (i.e. "We, the people of the United States".)