Rights Explained

Just what is a "right?" There is a lot of confusion and misinformation going around on that subject, and it is the source of a great deal of rancor and bad feelings. Unnecessarily, in my opinion. So I am going to clear that up right now.

So here we go: A right is an inalienable entitlement bestowed by God. Really, to refer to "God-given rights" is redundant. Rights cannot be conferred by any human agency because people are notorious for coming up with the wrong answer. I am a staunch champion of democracy, and I believe that we must force everyone in the world to accept it, but democracy must be subject to Divine Veto. Sort of like they have in Iran, except they have God wrong, of course. If they were Christian, they would be perfect. You cannot let people just vote on rights. Rights are too important to be entrusted to democracy.

How do you know what your rights are, then? Well, obviously, they are what God wants. But how do you know what God wants? Two ways. There's the Bible and What Everyone Knows.

The Bible is clear and not open to interpretation. What about What Everyone Knows? Everyone is endowed by their Creator with the rights to life, liberty, and property. Everyone knew that at the time of the American Revolution. You can look it up. None of that wishy-washy "pursuit of happiness" that He Who Must Be Expunged From the History Books wrote. What kind of a right is that?

But what if you let people vote on their rights? They'd start claiming health care, water, air, sunlight, not being tortured ... the list is endless. For instance, the Bible doesn't say anything like "Thou shalt not torture," does it? Not a right. Or "Thou shalt not make war," right? Well, obviously, it does say "Thou shalt not kill," but that obviously doesn't apply to war. If someone is trying to kill you, or if you know they will, you should kill them.

Here's a good example: water. We have the Right of Capture. That means that the person who owns the land also owns the water under the land. Now, that's a right. God-given. Everyone knows that. But you put it to a vote, the majority are likely to say everyone has a right to water. God never said that. God gave us the Right of Capture. Everyone knows that, but the majority doesn't.

I hope that clears it up.