PoliticalChic
Diamond Member
But, these are hardly rights.
Rights are God-given, and require no one else to participate in their assignment. Speech is a right.
A nice sentiment, perhaps, but in reality rights don't exist without a government to enforce them. "God-given" rights aren't worth much, if they can be violated with impunity. For example, if I'm stronger than you, you have the right to sit meekly by while I eat YOUR kill in hopes I might leave you some scraps.
I hope that helps and clears up your misconceptions about where rights come from.
Rights vs entitlement and privilege
True rights are inalienable. They exist whether or not they are recognized, and whether or not the ability or the will to defend them exists.
True rights do not impose an implicit obligation upon any other person to provide them to us. In fact, rights exist in greatest measure when we are each simply left alone.
If something must be provided to us at the expense of someone else in order for us to have it, then it may be an entitlement, a privilage, or an act of charity but it is not a right.
Rights vs entitlement and privilege | Breckshire … World with a View
The original rights were rights to live by ones personal efforts without the interference of others, and in particular, without interference by government. That is what the founders of the United States were declaring independence from, after all. The Declaration of Independence speaks of the right to pursue happiness; it does not offer a guarantee that one will achieve happiness. This makes all the difference in the world; for in a free society there can be no guarantee that effort will meet with success.
. there is a hard and fast difference between rights and entitlements, a difference which the past seventy years of government policy has blurred to the point of indistinguishability. A free society must recognize the distinction. Otherwise, it has no way of knowing which claims of rights to acknowledge and which to reject as spurious. Legitimate rights are easy to recognize. They can be acted on by individuals without the assistance of government and without forcibly interfering with other individuals. Entitlements, on the other hand, cannot be fulfilled except through specific government actions which require forcible interference with others. Protecting rights is thus compatible with limited government. Granting entitlements requires an ever- expanding and increasingly meddlesome state. The more entitlements the state grants, the more it must extend itself to make good on its promises, and the greater its level of interference with peoples actions.
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/rights-versus-entitlements/
I hope you appreciate the education, konny