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RE: We All Serve a God: Who (or What) is Yours?

in #inspiration • 7 years ago

I have the free speech right ..

@lundgreenman where did that right come from?
I believe in this statement from the Declaration of Independence...

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.

Where do you think rights come from?

7 years ago in #inspiration by
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     7 years ago (edited) 

    Rights come from human agreements and how we best decide to treat each other. Most of the countries back then that were Christian, did NOT believe in freedom of speech or equality. In other words, the more free-thinking/liberal founders of the USA (humans) decided to value freedom of speech and the other rights they enumerated later on in the U.S. Constitution.

    By the way, the Declaration of Independence was simply an opinion declaration against England (real HUMANS had to actually fight to get independence. there were no gods doing it for us) and did not establish any of the laws of the land in the USA (otherwise, why was there still slavery which directly contradicts the all men being created equal part?) and the Constitution had ZERO references to any god or creator as being the authority for those rights listed in the Bill of Rights and the other laws/government order.

    It was WE, THE PEOPLE who decided what our rights were (based in natural/socially/democratically agreed upon laws) and what we should aspire for them to be in the future. Also, if a god wanted us to have those rights, why did it supposedly wait until 1776 to communicate that to humans who also happened to want those exact same freedoms on their own? (no gods, no beliefs in a god, no priests/masters, and no need for religious faith was needed for our freedoms is my main point)

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       7 years ago  

      Constitutional rights is a misnomer.

      • Neither the Constitution or any government can grant rights.
      • The first 10 amendments to the Constitution (the so-called Bill of Rights) are simply limitations placed on the American Federal Government that they cannot infringe on rights.

      I believe rights are natural law.
      Meaning,

      • no government can give or take away these rights.
      • we cannot democratically or otherwise change them.

      You mentioned the slaves.

      • Did they have the right to be a free man? Yes
      • Did the fact they were slaves, mean they did not have this right? No
        • Did the 14th amendment "free the slaves?" No
          • It simply made other people stop trampling on their right to be a free man.
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         7 years ago (edited) 

        I agree that our rights stem from/exist within the framework of natural law. I also see them as outgrowths from our human brains/social interactions.

        The author of the original post recommended for me to stop posting here and just leave (he doesn't seem to like atheists much or maybe just me, which is highly understandable, hahaha) so if you feel like you want to talk more on this or any other topics, then feel free to go to and comment on any posts on my blog and we can continue the conversation there. (I mostly post art stuff but also a few other kinds of things)

        Hope to see you there in the future some time! Please don't feel obliged to upvote or follow me or anything like that. Take it easy! :)

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