Quote:
Originally Posted by Publius Infinitum
Actually friend, there is something I can point to and say: "This is a Right"... I point to my life... it's mine, I'm entitled to it; it was endowed to me by my creator and I am rightfully able to do anything with my life that leads to fulfillment of that life, so long as I do not infringe on the rights of another in the process...
Now some of those things may be protected privileges and they may not... but neither man nor man's government can strip me of that right... as they are not of NEARLY sufficient authority to do so; the BEST that they can do is impart sufficient power to prevent my ability to exercise my right, at which time they forfeit their own.
You're confusing rights with Government sponsored privilege; meaning that if it's illegal, it's no longer a right... which is nonsense. Even the daffy atheists are entitled to their life as a result of their creator's endowment. Their rejecting the concept of God has no bearing on God's existence, no more so than if they rejected on a conceptual level your existence... thus the rights endowed by God are likewise unaffected.
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If I point to you I will be pointing to a human being. I could put you in chains and drive you into my salt mine and you would have no rights whatsoever whatever you say or believe. It happens/happened all the time.
My view is that a system that allows this is not a good one for the reasons I've already stated - it does not allow all humans an opportunity to flourish, and while today I'm the slave-owner tomorrow I or my children may be the slaves.
Rights are a useful concept that allow men to live together peacefully and to their mutual benefit. However many words you pack around the name of the concept it is still not a thing with independent existance in the universe; when separated from the context of the concrete reality of humans living in society it has no meaning. The closest you can come to what you want to make of it is this: The reason this concept is valuable is because it arises out of the very nature of man, as seen in this definition of rights: "Conditions of existence required by man's nature for his proper survival."