By What Right?

by BigD

A little note before I start this; when I ask "by what right", I mean both as an individual and as part of a group. People do not gain or lose rights by banding together, therefore whatever is wrong for an individual is also wrong for a group.

You believe firearms are dangerous. Very well, you have the right not to buy one. By what right do you prevent me from owning one?

You believe gasoline-powered automobiles are bad for the environment. Very well, you have the right to drive a hybrid, battery-powered vehicle, or walk. By what right do you force me to do the same?

You believe gay marriage is wrong. Very well, you have the right to be heterosexual. By what right do you prevent me from marrying who I choose?

You believe the poor should be taken care of. Very well, you have the right to use your own money and devote your own time to taking care of them. By what right do you force me to do the same?

You believe hunting is wrong. Very well, you have the right not to hunt and can even use your own money to make a private reserve. By what right do you prevent me from hunting?

You believe making money is wrong. Very well, you have the right not to make any. By what right do you prevent me from making money?

By what right do you get to decide how much taxes I pay?
By what right do you get to decide what the money I make goes to?
By what right do you get to decide how much I pay the workers I hire?
By what right do you get to decide how much I charge for the product I create or the service I provide?

I could go on, but I'm sure you're starting to get the idea.

It's the question people rarely ask when they are forced to do something against their will. It's the question that's never answered by the environmentalists, the gun-grabbers, the people against gay marriage, by anyone who tries to force their views on others. Why don't they? Because the fact is, no person has the right to force their views on others (if they did, who would have the right to force what ideas on whom?).

Why is it so important? For one, have you ever asked yourself by what right someone forces you to do something against your will, something that causes no actual PHYSICAL harm to anyone else? Have the people who tried to force you ever given you a logical reason why they can do such a thing? Have they ever told you why it is right to follow their beliefs, but wrong to follow your own? If they haven't, how can what they do be moral? And if it's not moral, why do you allow it to happen? And if you allow it to happen, what's stopping the person from forcing you to do something worse?

If you don't stand up for your right to be free to do whatever brings you happiness so long as you don't use force on others, then the other person has no reason to respect it. The first step towards making them respect is by asking BY WHAT RIGHT!

And to those who would answer these questions by saying "Because I have the bigger club", know that by doing so, you are renouncing your own right to be free from physical force. One cannot rationally and morally demand his/her rights be respected, yet take part in or advocate the violation of the rights of others.

Viewed:	15 times
Added:	13 years, 5 months ago 01 Oct 2011 03:38 CEST

2 Comments on this Journal

Leave a Comment...

Micah

13 years, 5 months ago

link

Allot of the things you say make sense, the only thing I have to disagree on is your view on taxes.  No one likes them, but everyone benefits from them.  I think there needs to be tax reform in the U.S.  After all you can't say, if you don't like taxes don't pay them.  Because if you believe that, you have no right to use our roads, our police or fire forces for your protection.  You have no right to hire people to work for you who have been educated in our public schools.  You have no right to claim our soldiers as yours.  These are all things our tax dollars fund.  Taxes should be covered fairly, billionaires and millionaires should pay a tax rate lower than the workers who make them their money that is not fair.  I believe allot of tax exemptions for the rich should be removed if not every one can use them to lessen their tax burden as well.

On gay marriage I totally agree with you.  On the gun rights I almost agree with you.  Can you stop someone with a gun from shooting someone who doesn't believe in gun ownership rights?  No you can't,  in this case it comes down to the right of everyone to be safe.  Now as a gun owner I like my right to own them and defend it, however I can see why there should be stricter policies implemented in order to keep as many of them out of the wrong hands as possible.  I don't see why we can't make a national gun owners registry and give people a national gun card that shows they are a law abiding gun owner.  This card could close the loop hole of gun shows, allow any registered gun owner to buy a fire arm in any state, speed up or eliminate waiting periods not to mention restrict some ways violent criminals and terrorists get guns.

The list goes on and on like you said.  As a society we have to have laws and rules, usually made up by a majority of us.  However as of late it seems like the minority with allot of money to throw their weight around have taken our country hostage.  I would love to see things like gay marriage and other things on your "By what right" list put up for a vote like a presidential ballot where every voting person can check yes or no, not a group of lobbyists who want to shape society in their image.

BigD

13 years, 5 months ago

link

"Allot of the things you say make sense, the only thing I have to disagree on is your view on taxes.  No one likes them, but everyone benefits from them.  I think there needs to be tax reform in the U.S.  After all you can't say, if you don't like taxes don't pay them.  Because if you believe that, you have no right to use our roads, our police or fire forces for your protection.  You have no right to hire people to work for you who have been educated in our public schools.  You have no right to claim our soldiers as yours.  These are all things our tax dollars fund.  Taxes should be covered fairly, billionaires and millionaires should pay a tax rate lower than the workers who make them their money that is not fair.  I believe allot of tax exemptions for the rich should be removed if not every one can use them to lessen their tax burden as well."

First off, just because a person was educated at a public school does not make them government property; they have a right to offer their skills to whomever they wish, taxes be damned.  And roads are built by private construction companies, not the government, who also have a right to offer their skills to whomever they wish.

Police, fire and the military, I somewhat agree with you.  The legitimate functions of a government are the protection of people from force, and most people will happily pay for such services, with those who don't not getting access to them.  However, what I'm against is the government having the power to take a person's money without their consent and put it to something they may or may not support (ie, a war).  The government is made up of ordinary people like you and me; they have no more rights than you or I, which means they have no right to initiate force against others for any reason.

As for the rich and taxes, tell me this; do you believe a person's right to his property ends when he hits a certain income amount?  Does a rich person not have the same rights to his property as a poor person?  And how many of us would support taxes if they were based on race or gender rather than income (why would discrimination by one method be wrong, but discrimination by another be right)?  If taxes were based on the legitimate services I outlined and the rich used them more, it would make more sense to charge them extra, but to take more from them simply because they have more is immoral and a violation of property rights.

Also, you need to ask yourself, "By what right do I get to decide what another person's taxes should consist of?" before you start making such declarations.

"On the gun rights I almost agree with you.  Can you stop someone with a gun from shooting someone who doesn't believe in gun ownership rights?  No you can't,  in this case it comes down to the right of everyone to be safe."

By logic, one person's right cannot be used to violate another person's right.  Yes, a person who uses a gun to violate another person's right to his life would forfeit his right to that gun...but only if he were to take such action and not before.  Would you support locking people up before they committed a crime because "you can't stop someone from committing a crime"?  And no matter what laws you put into place, it's an inescapable fact that you will never completely stop gun crimes; what's important is that it is legally recognized that such people can be punished for such an action.

As far as a national gun registration, such things have been used in dictatorships and are more often used for arbitrary confiscation; they have rarely been used for safety reasons or to prevent gun crimes.

Finally, what should decide our laws isn't the majority or minority (bear in mind, the majority once said slavery was legal).  What should decide them is respect for individual rights.

New Comment:

Move reply box to top ↑

Log in or create an account to comment.

Help

Information

Policy & Legal

All artwork and other content is copyright its respective owners.

Powered by Harmony 'Gravitation' Release 80.

Content Server: Virginia Cache - provided by Inkbunny Donors. Background: Blank Gray.

The Inkbunny web application, artwork, name and logo are copyright and trademark of their respective owners.