Current mood:

contemplative

Is it really the Veteran?
A dear friend of mine often sends me motivational e-mails, and I appreciate them. Today, I got this one. I have no wish to hurt anyone's feelings, (and I really DO appreciate that my friend is thinking of me) but there's a fine distinction that the anonymous author of this doesn't understand. I think it's an important one.

"It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

"It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

"It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

"It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

"It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

"It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote."

Tell me I'm splitting hairs, but the veteran has risked death and personal injury to DEFEND my rights. He or she emphatically did not GIVE them to me. To believe that our rights are GRANTED by the government or the military is to subscribe to a belief in facism. If you're a religious believer in natural rights (I am), you believe your rights are given by God or the gods. If you're simply a pragmatic believer in individual rights, then you should understand that the granting authority has the RIGHT to take your rights away.

Government and the military have the POWER to abridge your rights. That's not the same thing as being a granting authority, unless you absolutely believe that might makes right. In which case, there is no objective morality. Anyone with a bigger stick is right.

For me, I believe that every human being has the same rights, is born with them, and any attempt to abridge them is an evil thing. Bravo to those who fight that evil, but let's not get carried away in our grattitude.