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Rights are not absolute in the sense that they cannot be revoked or forfeited. They can. Privileges are not comparable.

"We hold these Truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the Governed..."
-- Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Do you disagree with Tom, or are you just splitting semantic hairs?

Regards

J.R.

Do you disagree with Tom, or are you just splitting semantic hairs?

Actually, yes I do disagree with Tom. First off, the Declaration does not carry the force of law. This nation was not built off of the Declaration, but the Constitution. Two completely separate documents that really aren't even reconciled with each other.

All men are NOT created equal. But society owes the individual equal status before the law.

I'm 6' 6" tall. Are you?

I can do a 360-degree slam dunk. Can you?

I can hit a golf ball 340-yards down the fairway consistently. Can you?

You probably are capable of doing things that I could only dream of.

Get the point?

But let's talk turkey here. When Thomas Jefferson wrote these words, he didn't mean them. Did he? Talk to me, now!

But that's another topic.

However, I do appreciate the underlying message of what he wrote.

Next question.

Rights are not absolute in the sense that they cannot be revoked or forfeited. They can. Privileges are not comparable.

"We hold these Truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the Governed..."

Do you disagree with Tom, or are you just splitting semantic hairs?

The laws of this land are granted, enforced and are derived The Constitution, not the Declaration of Independance. Prior to 1789, the laws were based upon the Articles of Confederation, not the Declaration of Independance.

All the rights we enjoy are derived from and based on specifications set forth in The Constitution.

All the rights are derived from the living document itself, along with the Bill of Rights, i.e., the first ten amendments to The Constitution.

While Jefferson and the rest of the Founders were correct in the famous quote you refer to, the rights they mention by name ("Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness") are not tied to laws, but endowed by God.

There is a distinct difference.

In a later note, you compare the Declaration to the Ten Commandments. Once again, there is a difference. Moses set those down as dictated by God as the Law. The Commandments, along with the Levitical laws (i.e, the Book of Leviticus) were set apart as the laws of the land of Israel. The Levitical laws were derived directly from The Commandments and the teachings of Moses (i.e., "the Lawgiver").