3 Foundations

John Locke considered a person's property just as important for government protection as the person him/herself because

• the person was incapable of protecting it him/herself

• the government needs to make the decisions about what to do with the property to begin with

• democracy is inadequate for such a function

• one's property is a vital part of one's very livelihood

We get our rights from

• government

• the Bill of Rights

• the founding fathers

• a transcendent authority most people call God

The worst thing that can happen to you is

• being killed

• being made to disappear

• forced to have to give a speech

• having a spider crawl up along the wall near you

Locke said that if the government doesn't do its proper job of protecting your rights, then

• the citizens have the responsibility to overthrow that government

• we must vote everyone out of office

• assassinate any defective leader

• nothing, there is nothing any citizen can really do

There is a price for freedom. For instance in protecting the lives of a nation's citizens, some of those citizens

• may have to go to jail

• may have to pay taxes

• may have to give their lives in military service

• may have to do community service

The reason governments can be very scary and require the vigilance of its citizens is because

• governments really have a monopoly on the use of force

• we can never really elect principled people into office

• they are made up of anarchists who control the levers of power

• incorrect, governments can never be very powerful in the first place

We don't want revolutions all the time! Very bloody! This is why to avoid them we have in place ways to change government when necessary, and those things are in

• the US Constitution

• the Declaration of Independence

• the Bill of Rights

• the statutes regularly passed by the US Congress

Unalienable rights are those

• that do not come from other countries

• that can never be taken away

• particular rights that only privileged groups can enjoy

• the government is not expected to respect

One of the most important features of having transcendent unalienable rights (you have them no matter what and they can NEVER be taken away!) is that if someone assaults you for no reason and puts you in the hospital, then

• there is a standard for justice that may be carried out (he violated your rights!)

• nothing can happen because he was just stronger than you (sadly he took away your rights)

• the government will applaud him because government people didn't like you either (sadly the government took away your rights)

• when you are feeling better you can go assault him in an exquisite act of revenge (that's better -- now you can take away HIS rights!)

The real challenge of employing a natural rights philosophy to the activity of government is we all have some measure of

• desire to kick the **** out of someone we don't like thus removing any rights protections they may have

• confidence that the government will always protect everyone's rights perfectly

• insecurity about what those rights definitively ARE and what government's role is in all of that

• voting acumen so the best government people will be employed at all times