[John Valentine]

If our government was set up with the purpose of protecting individual rights (or liberty as your references suggest), then why was it necessary to add provisions to protect these very rights from the government itself?

NO government, not our government, not ANY government, from the beginning of time, was ever established to protect individual liberty. --John Valentine

Apparently you think there is some inconsistency between these two statements.

There is not.

In fact I have spent some number of words explaining the difference between the purpose of extablishing governance in the first instance, and secondary limitations that may be placed on governance (enumerated powers, for example) in the interest of individual liberty (or rights, if you wish).

The two are not the same thing except in your mind.

[hedgetrimmer]

"governance" is a global socialist word.