Ithaca Lawyer Where Do Rights Come From?

Kinda reminds me of little kids that like to ask, "daddy where do babies come from?"
Why, from your stomach of course. Kids are curious, I think people should be as well. A natural curiosity can yield a lot of fruit (knowledge) above and beyond any academic education.

I believe we live in a wonderful country. Warts and all it is still founded on some amazing ideas and principles.

The majority of people here are not from here. We are immigrants. Our families came here, seeking a new life, seeking freedom from oppression which brings me to today's thought,,,

Where do our rights come from? The fast answer is the constitution or maybe The laws of the United States or maybe The laws of the State of New York.

A careful reading of the Declaration of Independence, yes the one from 1776 yields the answer in all it's glory:

"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.-

So they come from our creator (G-d, whatever power you choose to believe in).

Inalienable is a great word. They mean Universal, Natural, & Not Conditioned Upon Governments, time, place, culture, customs, and traditions. That every person, man or woman, child or adult is born with these rights. Comes into the world with them. They are NOT granted by some ruling body.

Why Did We Need a Declaration of I Dependence?

Why Indeed? Because England had treated us like 2nd class citizens, like slaves, without any justice or compassion or respect for our natural born rights as human beings. It took alot for us to rebel against our Mother. To declare war against a super power.

What the Signers Risked

They risked everything (these men) when they had it all. They had massive land holdings, positions of authority, money, and local power. And if they only kept to the status quo, England promised them even more, but NO! they screamed. Because what they hungered for, what they willing to die for, what they most wanted was their being treated with dignity and respect. Money was not their end. Thank G-d they believed and lived something far bigger.

Why have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights?

The whole of our constitution is designed to LIMIT government and their AUTHORITY and Their POWER over us in our day to day affairs as a FREE people. Our Bill of Rights is more than a statement of what we have, it is a statement of what must not be INFRINGED upon or taken or forgotten or impeded by the powers that be (anyplace). NO state, no local government, no federal government or their officers shall trample these.

The Why of the Why?

The inalienable rights you and I have, we are born with them. They are present at all times and in all places on United States Soil. But they are not given by the government, they are to be protected by the government and a safeguard upon itself. And herein lies the distinction. This is why we have lawyers. This is why we need a system of checks and balances that is honored. This is what we fight for and we fight for everyone else to have. For better or worse many of us believe they (human rights) should be present on all soil but unfortunately not all countries recognize that concept and philosophy.

Lawrence Newman, D.C., J.D.
Doctor of Chiropractic
Attorney at Law

504 North Aurora Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

607-229-5184

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