Mr. Ryan's introduction as Mr. Romney's Vice Presidential selection offers an insight into both men. Within the introductory speech was an interesting sentence; designed to draw applause ~ and it succeeded. It is a sentence filled with cynicism and red meat designed to appeal to, perhaps, our less informed family, friends and neighbors.
“Our rights come from nature and God, not from government.”
No! They! Don't!
The inspiration for this irrational Republican applause line is, of course, the Declaration of Independence. With a couple of hints toward a supreme being, the authors of that document provided a false foundation upon which this argument is built. Our English language has evolved a bit over the past 235 years, and the structure of thoughts by great thinkers can be a bit overwhelming for those who want to believe something is true more than they wish to research the truth.
Here, I edit a few sentences from the Declaration, just a bit, to highlight specific clauses:
When ... it becomes necessary for one people ... to assume ... the separate ... station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature's God entitle them, ... they should declare the causes.
...
... all men are created equal .... endowed by their Creator with certain ... rights, ... among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
In the original, and in these {hopefully simplified} sentences, the language is complex and difficult. It is English, but, it seems that so many of our neighbors have never sufficiently figured out how how to comprehend what, exactly, the language means.
The Declaration of Independence is a wonderful document in the history of our government, but let us remember that this document is akin to a younger sibling telling the older, "You're Not The Boss of Me". Our founders, in this analogy, are the younger siblings to the monarch of Great Britain. The authors are yelling, in a wonderfully poetic language, "I'm telling Mom!" They are using the justification of a higher authority to support the seriousness of their claim.
Of course, the authors were not children. They were some of the wisest men of their times (and perhaps of all time). They did not stop their reasoning at the foot stomping and breath holding. They continued their argument.
And it is the next sentence that becomes so very important. Here, I include that sentence ( and actually, I see now that it is a sentence fragment ... but I like my argument better with the title 'The Next Sentence' ~ so I continue with this error )
- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
{ here, I pause to admire the beauty of this language }
Read that language carefully ... it says :
Men create governments, and it is the function of government to secure rights for men. And if government is not securing the rights of men, men can break down the government and build a new one; organizing a better government for the safety and happiness for men.
God, apparently, doesn't have a very big part to play in any of this.
I understand that religious people wish to use their religious beliefs to justify, well, everything ~ especially the things they don't understand (like the complex English sentences above). But, in this, they are so very, very wrong. And I weary of their incorrect assertions.
God does not give people in America the right to peaceably assemble, men do.
God does not give people in America the right to bear arms ( oh, please, try to find that in any of the ancient holy texts ).
God does not protect people in America from being forced to give their homes to soldiers.
How can god reasonably grant the rights of the 18th and the 21st Amendments to the Constitution?
Truly, if any of the fundamentalists who believe that rights come from god spent just a few moments thinking about the rights in our Constitution, they would realize the nonsense of the thought.
And yet, there are Mr. Romney, and Mr. Ryan, pretending to believe such hoo-ey. Such mindless pandering, on such an important topic, should be disqualifying for higher office. Rights are granted by Governments. And in our case, the government has authority to grant such rights because of the consent of the governed.
Now, personally, I don't believe in religion, nor in a supernatural being. I understand that some do ... and in accordance with the First Amendment to our Constitution, I am perfectly willing to allow anyone to believe any bronze age mythology he chooses. But, it damned well pisses me off when they start claiming that their specific bronze age mythology is what gives me my rights.
Our rights come from nature and god, Mr. Ryan? Really? No, sir. No! They! Don't!