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I have an inherent
and unalienable
right to Life, Liberty,
and
Property. My Liberty
is my unobstructed action according to my will, within the limits drawn
by the equal rights of others. The right to protect one's rights
is inherent in having
those rights in the first place. I
have the right to
protect
myself from the depredation
of others in regard to my Life, Liberty, and Property.
What are those equal
rights of others? Exactly the same as mine; The Right to Life,
Liberty, and Property. No more, no less.
We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal;
that they are endowed
by their Creator with inherent
and unalienable
rights; that among these, are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness;
- Declaration of
Independence
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Can you have happiness if
you have no claim to ownership of your Just
earned Property? In simpler terms, Are you happy when your stuff
is stolen?
As in our intercourse
with our fellow-men certain principles of morality are assumed to
exist, without which society would be impossible, so certain inherent rights lie at the
foundation of all action, and upon
a recognition of them alone can free institutions be maintained.
These inherent rights have never been more happily expressed than in
the declaration of independence, that new evangel of liberty to the
people: 'We hold these truths to be
self-evident'-that is, so
plain that their truth is recognized upon their mere statement-'that all men are endowed'-not by
edicts of emperors, or
decrees of parliament, or acts of congress, but 'by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights.'-that is, rights
which cannot be bartered away, or given away, or taken away, except in
punishment of crime-'and that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
...
Among these inalienable
rights, as proclaimed in that great document,
is the right of men to pursue their
happiness, by which is meant
the right to pursue any lawful business or vocation, in any
manner not inconsistent with the equal rights of others, which may increase their prosperity
or develop their faculties, so as to
give to them their highest enjoyment.
- FIELD, J., concurring
Buthcher's Union Co. v. Crescent City Co.,
111 U.S. 746 (1884)
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Life
Is a Gift from God
We
hold from God the gift which includes all others. This gift is
life—physical, intellectual, and moral life. But life cannot maintain
itself alone. The Creator of life has entrusted us with the
responsibility of preserving, developing, and perfecting it. In order
that we may accomplish this, He has provided us with a collection of
marvelous faculties. And He has put us in the midst of a variety of
natural resources. By the application of our faculties to these natural
resources we convert them into products, and use them. This process is
necessary in order that life may run its appointed course. Life,
faculties, production—in other words, individuality, liberty, property—this
is man. And in spite of the cunning of
artful
political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human
legislation, and are superior
to it.
- Frederic Bastiat
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