Friday, January 20, 2006

What is the Source of our Rights and Liberties?

In the Palazzolo case, Justice Kennedy refers to an argument made by the State of Rhode Island that takes the position that "Property rights are created by the State" (p. 809) and, thus, what the State giveth the State can taketh away.

Do you agree with this view of the source of our liberties? Are our rights to freedom of speech, religious liberty, and equality also the mere creatures of the State?

Consider what the Declaration of Independence says about this issue:


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.--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.


What are your thoughts?