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To: Straight Vermonter
If our rights are granted to us by the constitution and not by the creator than they are not truly rights. They are merely "allowances" that our government makes for us. Fortunately, our rights are not given to us by the constitution or the government but are the natural rights of man. We give the government permission to take some of our rights in order to provide for a common defense and to provide order over chaos. The constitution does not give us rights but rather spells out what rights we allow the governemtn to "borrow".

What are the human rights provided to us by the creator? Can you list as many as you can, if not everyone. What are the rights that the government has borrowed? Common defense against what? What order do we seek? Who defines this order or is it also defined by the creator? If we talk about a creator, then what happens to people who do not believe in a creator? I am not telling you you are wrong, but want to know understand what you are talking about, before I come to a conclusion. Thanks.

23 posted on 11/28/2001 10:53:10 AM PST by Cool Guy
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To: Cool Guy
What are the human rights provided to us by the creator? Can you list as many as you can, if not everyone. What are the rights that the government has borrowed? Common defense against what? What order do we seek? Who defines this order or is it also defined by the creator? If we talk about a creator, then what happens to people who do not believe in a creator? I am not telling you you are wrong, but want to know understand what you are talking about, before I come to a conclusion. Thanks.

We have right to do anything in nature. We surrender some of these rights to the community so that we can have order. By order I mean that me prevent someone from exercising their right to punch you or me in the face. The rights the government borrows are those we have agreed to allow them to have through the constitution. Our constitution (minus the bill of rights) specifies the government rights, not the people's rights. Its not neccessary to believe in a creator, simply think of them as natural rights.

Simply put some people view rights as being given by government and others as rights given by the people to government. The founders of this country believed in the second option. I suggest reading a comparison of the writings of Rousseau and Locke. Rousseau believed in government devolving power while Locke was the philosopher behind the thinking of the founders. He coined the phrase "Life, liberty and the pursuit of property."

47 posted on 11/28/2001 1:30:07 PM PST by Straight Vermonter
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