[kiryandil]

You want to lesson the punishment for being a rapist and murderer, in the dire hope that doing so would somehow spare you from a tyrant’s wrath, should they gain power.

I really posted that? Or did you just put words in my mouth? LOL! :)

Still waiting for that "unalienable" definition. Or do you want me to post Merriam's myownself?

You could pull a Partisan Liberal Media (PLM), and post the least damaging definition for your argument...

[SampleMan]

Perhaps you could have someone read my posts to you.

[Cboldt]

The Merriam's definition, at least the one I looked up, doesn't really give a complete picture. It's not incorrect, but it's misleading and in a way, incomplete.

"To alienate" is a term of art used in property law, and generally means to transfer from one person or entity to another.

The Merriam's definition only covers the "give up" part of that, and skips the "to another" part. For example, "life" is unalienable. That doesn't mean it can't be taken from you, or that you can't give it up. Your life is uniquely yours, and you can't transfer it to somebody else. Same with your liberty (which is roughly freedom to move about as you please) and your pursuit of your happiness.

The Declaration makes the assertion that governments exist to protect these things - life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. And when government fails to do so, then the people have a right to overthrow the government.

The Declaration of Independence is both radical and revolutionary; and inverts the historical relationship between the individual and the government. Powerful stuff.

Black's Law Dictionary: Not transferable or assignable