"If mankind minus one were of one opinion, then mankind is no more
justified
in silencing the one than the one - if he had the power - would be
justified
in silencing mankind."
- John Stuart Mill
By R. Lee Wrights
BURNET, Texas (June 12) - It is popular and expedient in politics to
champion taxpayer rights, state's rights, patient rights, gay rights,
people-with-disabilities rights, even animal rights. Name any group, or
make
one up, and undoubtedly someone will advocate for that group's "rights."
The
problem is - there is no such thing as "group rights." Group rights are
an
illusion conjured up by politicians and special interests to increase
their
influence and power.
The simple, basic truth is that all rights belong to the individual. You
are
born with your rights and no power on earth can take them away from you.
You
cannot give your rights away. They end only when you die, and not a
split-second sooner. Individual rights cannot be divided or multiplied;
and,
individual rights are superior to any other claimed rights.
Individual rights mean you can adopt whatever culture you want and live
any
lifestyle you choose to live. We have the individual right to worship or
not
worship whatever god we want without interference from anyone else, so
long
as we do not interfere with the rights of other individuals to do the
same.
It is the fundamental and universal concept recognized by our nation's
Founders. As a result of this recognition, the superiority of individual
rights became the foundation of the United States government.
The view that our rights are granted to us by the Constitution and the
Bill
of Rights is equally incorrect and dangerous. As important and
eloquently
written as these two documents are, they grant us nothing. America's
founding documents merely recognized, and seek to guarantee the
recognition,
of the individual human rights shared by all of mankind. The Bill of
Rights
does not declare human rights are valid from a set date forward. The
Bill of
Rights is a proclamation to the world of something that has always been.
the
sanctity, superiority and supremacy of individual human rights. The
Constitution is to serve as a warrantee of those rights, not a grant of
privilege that allows us to embrace and enjoy them.
Individual rights are the "self-evident truths" Thomas Jefferson wrote
about
when he penned the words in the Declaration of Independence 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." He was not expressing any new ideas or concepts. He was
telling
people something that had always been. Individuals have rights by birth
that
cannot be given or taken away.
Two people, 200 people, 2 million people, even the world's populations
combined do not have more rights than one person. There are no such
things
as "state's rights," there are only human rights possessed by people
individually from birth. A "state" may have more influence, more power,
and
theoretically, a greater ability to protect individual rights. There is
certainly strength in numbers, as they say. Labor unions have proven
that
numbers mean power in politics. But no group of individuals has more
rights
than any one individual, nor do groups acquire special rights by being
organized.
Power and rights are simply not the same thing. The individual right to
freedom of association allows people to band together to protect their
individual rights. Such associations can become agencies designed to
control, limit, restrict or even abolish the individual rights of people
who
don't belong to that group. However, even if they are successful, any
law
that suppresses the rights of individuals can be nullified by the
people.
As Jefferson wrote, "...law is often but the tyrant's will and always so
when it violates the rights of the individual." It makes no difference
if
that tyrant is a single person or a group of people united under common
cause. The rights of the many are never greater, can never be greater,
than
the rights of the few, or even the one. If we accept the illusion of
group
rights, we also accept the legitimacy of tyranny. That is why when it
comes
to human rights, no number is greater than one.
R. Lee Wrights, 53, a libertarian writer and political activist, is
seeking
the presidential nomination because he believes the Libertarian message
in
2012 must be a loud, clear and unequivocal call to stop all war. To that
end
he has pledged that 10 percent of all donations to his campaign will be
spent for ballot access so that the stop all war message can be heard in
all
50 states. Wrights is a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and
co-founder and editor of of the free speech online magazine Liberty For
All.
Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., he now lives and works in Texas.
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Opinion/091574-2011-06-13-op-ed-group-rights-are-a-dangerous-illusion.htm?From=News
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