Who has got their rights... right?

I have been thinking a lot about rights lately and the government versus true freedom.

First off Benjamin Franklin once said:
“A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins."

After I had thought about this I realized I could not think of my rights or if I had been well informed about them. Why doesn’t the educational system inform us? Why is it that we don't read more of these important US historical people’s actual writings in school? Before you read on, ask yourself "what rights has God given me?" Or if you don’t believe in God ask yourself if you have any rights that are guaranteed to you.

After thinking about it a while I remembered what the Declaration of Independence states:
“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.”

Ok there you go our rights. But WAIT. What makes them so self evident? Why is it self-evident that 1)We are all created equal and 2)We have guaranteed rights? Why? Ask yourself. Pause and think about it. Says who?

Well, I am going to go about this from a non-theistic view and without the Bible; although it ultimately has to come back to it.

First, we are created equal. This has to be a given because no one can prove otherwise. Sure I can say that I am better than everyone else but that is only my opinion. I can say that Bob Dole should rule over us because he is very good at holding things in his hand evidenced by how he holds the pen all the time and therefore he would do well at holding a king’s scepter. But again this is only my opinion. I could enforce my opinion by holding a gun to your head. But when it comes down to it: who is worthy enough to choose the criteria? Birth lineage? So what? That is your opinion. They fight well and kill fast. So what? Intelligence? Who says that intelligence is the measure of one's worth? Strength? I am stronger than you? Health? Size? Length? We are all born and we shall all die and we are all made out of the same stuff. Equal. No one's opinion is better than anyone elses because it is human vs. human. "I have gathered all the genetic information and have found out that only blond haired and blue eyed people have perfect DNA." SO WHAT? I say a better measure of a perfect person would be how many times one can throw a 7 in a craps game.

So this brings us to “Why do we have rights that no one can take from us?” Well if we are equal; why can anyone force their ideas on you? Why should I enforce my idea of “You shouldn’t live anymore” on you? Only someone more than equal to you can decide that for you not me. If we are equal no one should be able to tell you what to do as long as it does not mess with anyone else’s rights.

But why do we allow the government to do it? This government that is supposed to be “by the people and for the people.” This government of which the founding fathers wanted to be VERY limited because they knew that a powerful government could become a tyrant. Why do we allow it to tell us what to do and when not to do it?

Why do we pay taxes though we are not sure where they go and why? Because of FEAR. We want to be safe from the IRS.

Why do we stop at the red light for minutes when there is clearly no one around? Because of FEAR. We want to be safe from the police.

Benjamin Franklin also said:
“Those who would sacrifice a little freedom for temporal safety deserve neither to be safe or free.”

Do you deserve to be free?

The Declaration of Independence goes onto say:
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
WOW!!! That sounds fanatical.